The Story

Emma Krafft was a German-born Templer exiled to the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century. When she met the head of the Ottoman railways at the Krafft family-owned Carmel hotel in Haifa, a love story was born. They married and moved to Constantinople, and the rest is history. Emma was an avid lover of jewels, many of which are still in the family to this day. 

The German Templer settlement of Haifa in the early 1910s was the first wave of German immigrants to create an architectural convention that was to become part of their traditional style.The wisdom and beauty of that style lay in the details with simple decorative elements of a high level of skill and accuracy and careful attention to details. The creative energy they invested created houses that were unprecedentedly unique. The basis of the Emma Krafft brand thus lies in this principle of precision and simplicity - as well as the fusion of cultures and generations.

 

Founder of the brand is the great-granddaughter of Emma Krafft, Esin Nalbantoglu (also goes by Emma). On her father's side, she descends from a Circassian line of metalsmiths, her last name literally translating as 'son of a horseshoe maker' :) 

The Turkish-born designer is internationally experienced, having grown up in the US and Singapore and educated in Canada and the Netherlands. This cross-cultural experience carries on in the themes of her pieces and she often travels the globe in search of inspiration and material sources.

Over the course of her career, she has worked as Art Director for architects, industrial and fashion designers, during which her graphics works have received numerous international awards. Also a teacher of typography at universities, she often uses type and calligraphy in her goldsmithing. 

Having experienced hands-on training for over 6 years as a metalsmith and stone setter in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, she established the Emma Krafft brand in 2017. The studio is currently based in Karaköy - Istanbul