Private decadence
Hand modeling in Shimoda and silver versions of new pieces
Wearing jewelry in nature is a private form of decadence. It’s not about being seen. It’s about feeling connected and enjoying beauty for its own sake.
As I get older, I feel a quiet thrill in wearing something precious when no one is watching. An act of pleasure rather than practicality. There’s something a bit magical about the juxtaposition of nature’s rawness and shaped, controlled metal.
Interestingly, now that I make jewelry I wear it less frequently in my day-to-day urban life than I used to. I think some of the status signaling it used to represent for me is gone. But I reach for pieces I treasure for sentimental reasons more often, wearing them without audience or occasion, simply because I want to.
Shimoda
I spent a long weekend with my family and boyfriend in Shimoda, a quiet beach town about a 3 hour drive from Tokyo. We began mornings swimming and playing on the beach as my dog, Umi, furiously dug in the sand. We ate outside, hiked, and relaxed.
My brother took a few photos of me on the first day wearing some pieces from my jewelry collection. If anything, my biggest takeaway is that being a hand model is not easy! A manicure and study of hand poses will be in my future for next time (unsurprisingly, filing and polishing metal constantly does not do nice things to your nails). I also think that in a year or two when I have more pieces, investing in a professional photoshoot and model will be a lot of fun!
Current projects
The first silver version of my clamshell charm bracelet returned from my caster. It’s size and design are a departure from my existing collection. I am debating the final design of the piece: either a single clamshell charm with a circular chain for the rest of the bracelet; three clamshell charms linked together; or a singular clamshell with a piece of seaglass (that I found in Shimoda) set as another charm.
I finished silver “master” versions of two new ring designs. Both are inspired by the ripples of a river. The one without a stone is intended as a wedding band and after casting it in gold I will add a spattering of melee diamonds to the top of one of the ripples to reflect light like current in a river. The ring with the violet sapphire could either be an alternative engagement ring or an everyday piece. For the sapphire ring, I haven’t decided yet whether to cast it in gold or keep it in silver.
(As an aside, I made a classic jeweler’s mistake of eagerly placing the sapphire into the ring to test the fit when I didn’t intend to set it… needless to say the stone fits in its seat well and it was very difficult to remove it.)
Recent inspirations
Cheyenne Weil’s exquisitely carved gold jewelry pieces
Silver matchboxes - I would love to make my own, perhaps as a next object project after I finish my figurine of my dog.