INNAN Jewellery: Turning a Designer's Vision Into a Shopify Experience

Some projects are about shipping a store quickly. This one was about something harder: translating a designer's precise creative vision into a digital experience that felt like the brand itself. INNAN Jewellery is an independent designer jewellery Atelier in Berlin, founded in 2013 by Ukrainian designer Inna Nechyporenko and built around bespoke commissions and a distinctive, sculptural aesthetic. When Inna came to us for a complete redesign, she didn't arrive with a vague brief — she came with a clear vision for the new site, in a specific style she already had in mind. Our job was to realise that vision properly: to take a well-defined creative direction and turn it into a site that works as beautifully as it looks.

This is the story of how we did that — across research, design, and development — and of the store we built for one of Berlin's most distinctive independent jewellers.

The brand: architecture in metal

To understand the project, you have to understand the brand. INNAN was founded in Berlin in 2013 by Ukrainian designer Inna Nechyporenko, working from a cosy Atelier in Berlin-Mitte where every piece is designed and hand-finished. The aesthetic is unmistakable: sculptural, architectural, drawn from the Brutalist buildings of Inna's childhood in Kyiv and the rhythms of Berlin and Paris — slightly imperfect bent forms and bold graphic textures kept elegant and clean. Series like Chaotic, Cenote, and Vortex have a reputation for what the brand itself calls "brutal, beautiful elegance."

This isn't a mass-market label. INNAN is made-to-order, sold online and by appointment at the Atelier. The proposition is craft and individuality — "miniature works of art," in the designer's own words, often one of a kind, always personal.

That's exactly what makes it a demanding project. A brand whose entire value is artistic distinctiveness cannot live on a generic template. The website has to carry the same point of view as the jewellery — or it undercuts the thing it's selling. A template with nice photography was never going to do that, and Inna knew it: she came to us with a clear sense of the style and direction she wanted for the new site.

So the goal was never "a good-looking jewellery site." It was to realise Inna's vision precisely — a digital experience that reflected the brand's values, its artistic sensibility, and the specific creative direction she brought to us — and to make it work flawlessly as a store. That's a genuinely difficult thing to get right, and it shaped how we ran the entire project. We split the work into three deliberate stages — research, design, and development — because a project like this earns its quality in the groundwork, not just the build.

Stage 1: Research and pre-design

We started before any design work — with a proper pre-design phase.

Because Inna already had a clear vision and a specific style in mind, this stage wasn't about inventing a direction — it was about grounding hers and building the foundation to execute it well. Our team analysed INNAN's niche, its competitors, and the references and visual direction Inna brought, then translated all of it into the tools a serious design phase needs: a mood board, a style board, and detailed prototypes. The point of this stage isn't decoration. It's alignment — making sure her vision and our execution were pointed at exactly the same target before anyone committed to pixels.

For a brand as specific as INNAN, with a client who knew precisely what she wanted, that alignment mattered even more than usual. Getting the creative direction locked in up front meant the design stage could push confidently for something distinctive, because we already shared a clear picture of what "right" looked like. Once the direction was confirmed, we moved into design with a solid foundation instead of a set of assumptions.

Stage 2: Design

The design stage was the most extensive part of the project, and the one where the collaboration really showed.

Our goal was to visualise the brand as accurately as possible — not only from our team's design perspective, but from the perspective of the person who understands INNAN best: Inna herself. That balance is the whole craft of a project like this. Push too hard on agency instinct and you get a beautiful site that isn't the brand; defer entirely to the client and you get a literal brief with no design expertise applied. The good outcome lives in between, and you only reach it through real back-and-forth.

Inna was deeply involved throughout. She gave detailed, well-structured feedback, shared references and examples, explained exactly how she envisioned specific elements — and was equally open to our recommendations and creative suggestions. That two-way exchange let us work through ideas together and refine the smallest details: the pacing of the pages, the way the work is presented, the balance of image, video, and space that gives the site its gallery-like feel.

The result is a design that carries INNAN's identity rather than approximating it. The sculptural, artful quality of the jewellery is reflected in how the site moves and breathes — considered, unhurried, and clearly premium. It reads as the brand, which was the entire objective.

Stage 3: Development

Once the design was finalised, our development team rebuilt the store on Shopify — and this is where a genuinely custom project separates from a themed one.

Reproducing a design visually is one thing. Making it work as a real, high-functioning ecommerce experience is another. We rebuilt the storefront on Shopify from the approved design, using a deliberate combination of native Shopify capability and custom development — reaching for existing apps where they were the right tool, and building custom where the brand's needs went beyond what an off-the-shelf solution could do. The test we held ourselves to wasn't "does it match the mockup." It was "does it work seamlessly as a store."

Selling a made-to-order product online

The hardest problem in a jewellery Atelier like INNAN is that much of what it sells doesn't fit the standard ecommerce model. A bespoke engagement ring isn't a product with a fixed price sitting in a catalogue — it's a commission that begins with a conversation. Most of INNAN's work is made-to-order, and some of it is entirely one-of-a-kind.

So the store had to do something a normal product page can't: guide a customer into a bespoke enquiry without forcing a piece that doesn't have a fixed price or a fixed form into a "buy now" box. We built a considered enquiry journey for commission customers, alongside the more conventional catalogue for ready-to-order pieces — so the site serves both the shopper browsing collections and the client beginning a custom commission, without either flow feeling bolted on.

Designing for a considered purchase

Fine jewellery is not an impulse buy. Someone commissioning a ring or choosing a significant piece moves slowly, comes back several times, and needs to trust the maker before they spend. The site had to support that rhythm rather than rush it.

That shaped a set of deliberate decisions: a wishlist, so pieces can be saved and returned to across the long decision a considered purchase involves; direct Atelier appointment booking, so a customer can move from browsing online to meeting Inna in Berlin — trying pieces on, getting sized, discussing a commission — in a couple of clicks; and a video-rich, gallery-like storefront that gives the work room to breathe and communicates craft in a way product photos alone can't. Each of these exists because the buying journey for INNAN is slow, high-trust, and personal, and the site is built around that reality rather than fighting it.

One feature earns a mention of its own: the atelier tour. INNAN's pieces are designed and hand-finished in a subterranean Berlin-Mitte workshop, and that workshop is a real part of the brand's story — the place where the jewellery is actually made. Rather than hide it behind a contact form, the site brings the visitor inside: a behind-the-scenes look at the atelier that turns "buy from a website" into "meet the maker." For a high-consideration purchase, that kind of transparency does real work — it builds the trust a customer needs before they commission a piece, and it connects the online experience directly to the physical atelier and the appointment booking. It's a good example of the site doing something a standard store never would, because the brand called for it.

Serving an international clientele

INNAN sells online well beyond Germany. The store supports English and German alongside multi-currency, so a cross-border audience gets a native-feeling experience wherever they're shopping from. It's the kind of detail that's invisible when it works and immediately alienating when it's missing.

The through-line across all of it: every one of these pieces had to be visually faithful to the design and technically sound. That's the standard we build to.

The result

INNAN is now one of the projects we're proudest to have in our portfolio. The finished site doesn't just look strong — it reflects the personality, vision, and positioning of the brand behind it. For a business whose entire proposition is craft and individuality, that alignment between brand and digital experience is the thing that actually matters, and it's the thing we set out to achieve. The bespoke journey, the catalogue architecture, the pacing of the pages, the way the work is presented — each was built to the standard the brand demands, and to work cleanly as a real store rather than just look the part.

You can see it live at innan-jewellery.com.

It's also worth a brief word on how the project ran, because it contributed to the result. Inna was an engaged, thoughtful client — she gave clear, well-structured feedback and shared strong references, while trusting our team's expertise in design, development, and UX. That kind of collaboration lets a project like this reach its full potential: we handle the craft, the client keeps it true to the brand, and the finished product is better for both. It's the kind of partnership we do our best work in.

If you're building or rebuilding a brand-led store and want a team that treats it as seriously as INNAN's, get in touch. We take on a small number of projects where craft and technical quality genuinely matter — and we'd love to hear about yours.

FAQ

What did Base X Tech build for INNAN Jewellery?
We delivered a complete redesign and rebuild of the INNAN Jewellery website on Shopify — running the project across three stages: research and pre-design (competitor and reference analysis, mood board, style board, prototypes), an extensive design stage, and development. The build combined native Shopify capability with custom development to support features like a bespoke commission journey, Atelier appointment booking, a collection- and material-based catalogue, a wishlist, and English/German language support with multi-currency.

What kind of brands do you build websites for?
We work with brand-led, commerce-first businesses that care about craft and want a digital experience that genuinely reflects their identity — like INNAN, an independent designer jewellery Atelier. These are projects where a template isn't enough and the details matter, and where the client has a clear vision they want realised properly on Shopify.

How involved does the client need to be in a project like this?
As involved as they'd like to be. Our team handles the design, development, UX, and technical craft — that's our job. A client who shares a clear vision, strong references, and thoughtful feedback helps us keep the result true to their brand, which is why projects like INNAN's tend to turn out well. But the expertise and the execution are ours to deliver.

How do you sell bespoke or made-to-order products on Shopify?
The key is not to force a custom, price-on-enquiry piece into a standard "buy now" product page. For INNAN, we built a considered enquiry journey for commission customers that runs alongside the conventional catalogue for ready-to-order pieces — so the site serves both a shopper browsing collections and a client beginning a one-of-a-kind commission. That usually involves a mix of custom development and the right Shopify functionality, shaped around how the business actually takes orders.

Can you combine custom development with standard Shopify features?
Yes — and it's usually the right approach. We use existing Shopify apps and native functionality where they're the best tool for the job, and build custom where a brand's needs go beyond off-the-shelf solutions. The goal is always a store that is both visually faithful to the design and technically sound as a real ecommerce experience.

Base X Tech is a custom Shopify agency. We design and build brand-led stores where craft, collaboration, and technical quality all matter. If you're planning a redesign or a new build, get in touch.