Flesh and Soul: Adorning the Flesh, Awakening the Soul
When Nicole Nigar Madd started her jewelry line Flesh & Soul in 2020, the world was standing still. For her, it was the perfect time to move.
“I started during the pandemic,” she said. “I was looking for a business that could work for me. I always was into jewelry and also into movies. I’ve been taking acting classes here, so basically storytelling. So jewelry was the best storytelling item for me.”
What began as a creative experiment with $600 worth of silver pieces from a shop in Istanbul quickly became something larger. “The first ring was sold after a couple weeks,” she remembered. “It was an evil eye ring with tourmaline, and when I got my first five-star review, I was so happy.”
Her first original design, the Hecate Goddess pendant, changed everything. “Through Hecate, I met so many people,” she said. “She’s the triple goddess from Greek mythology, the mother of all witches. Her symbol is the moon phases, transformation, the phases of life. Since then, my best sellers are always related to her.”
That symbolism runs deep through Flesh & Soul. Nicole’s pieces often blend mythology, art, horror, and the sacred feminine into wearable talismans. “I’ve always been interested in Greek mythology and history,” she explained. “It all starts from mythology, every story, every movie. The base of everything.”
Nicole’s process is part research, part ritual. Sketchbooks filled with erotic art and classical references line her workspace. She reads, dreams, and then creates.
“I digest the information, I look through the images, and some of the ideas come to me when I’m sleeping,” she said. “Since I was a kid, I see very vivid dreams. I remember everything. I write them down, and I wake up, ‘Oh my God, this is it.’”
Each design carries a story. Some are whimsical, some confrontational, and some deeply spiritual. None are bound by gender. “I never think that I’m making for woman or man,” she said. “It’s always unisex. If you like it, of course you should wear it, because it has meaning behind it.”
Among her most talked-about designs are the pieces made with human teeth, an idea born from a fascination with what connects us physically and spiritually.
“I’ve been thinking what I could use from human part without harming anyone,” she said. “Of course it could be teeth, because people pull them, they’re so precious, but we throw them away. Why wouldn’t we use them as a part of jewelry?”
Nicole works with a dental school in Turkey to source and clean the teeth, adding gemstones and silver settings that transform the concept from macabre to meaningful. “Carrying someone’s DNA with you and not knowing who that is actually makes you so grounded,” she said. “It’s very intimidating for people who don’t understand, very good filter.”
Some of Nicole’s favorite pieces push boundaries even further. She describes her Spider Earrings, inspired by H.R. Giger’s biomechanical art, as “my passion to horror.” Another favorite is her Cycle of Life ring, created in collaboration with a painter friend. The design reimagines the ancient Ouroboros symbol in a bold and unexpected way, merging humor, sensuality, and mythology into a single piece. “Sometimes I like to invent symbols that don’t exist,” she said. “It’s about transformation and the repetition of life, told through my own artistic language.”
Even when her designs provoke, they come from a place of connection. “My intention and goal with my jewelry is connection,” she said. “People recognizing each other when they see the jewelry and start a conversation, recognizing the symbols. It’s echoes of your soul that you wear on your flesh.”
For Nicole, creating Flesh & Soul has been as much about self-discovery as it is about art. “People come to me with very personal things,” she said. “Jewelry for me is a way of connection, sharing my experience, my beliefs. When they buy it, they buy the story.”
She believes that belief itself is transformative. “I love to hear from customers that since they got the jewelry from me, everything turned out well. Whatever you believe, it becomes the truth.”
Looking ahead, Nicole dreams of opening physical stores, first in Los Angeles, then Bali. But she’s not in a rush. “I don’t like to make goals too far into the future,” she said. “You change all the time. I’m not responsible for my future self. Whatever makes me feel good, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Through Flesh & Soul, she’s already creating something timeless, pieces that bridge flesh and spirit, fear and beauty, life and art.
Discover Flesh & Soul
Explore Nicole’s jewelry at fleshnsoul.com or on Etsy.
Follow her on Instagram @flesh_soul for new designs and behind-the-scenes looks.
Upcoming Events:
BLASPHEMEET: Three Rings of Violence – November 15–16, 2025
The Crooked Path Occult Craft Market – November 29, 2025
Oddities & Curiosities Expo 2026
Use code WAVES for 15% off your purchase or visit fleshnsoul.com/discount/WAVES.
This story was created by Making Waves Project as part of 13 Days of Strange, our series spotlighting the beautifully unusual people and projects shaping culture in ways big and small. By sharing these stories, we aim to honor the creativity, resilience, and vision behind the work and amplify voices that thrive in the strange, the bold, and the unforgettable.
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Photography by Robiee Ziegler
Produced by Katie Caro
