Curves are everywhere once you start looking for them - in the way a creek winds through a valley, in the trail of light a sparkler leaves behind, or in the folds of ribbon candy lined up in a tin. For me, they’ve always held a kind of magic. Not rigid or static, but alive. They can be full of motion and story.
That sense of movement is at the heart of everything I create. I’m not just shaping metal or carving wax, but I’m also capturing a moment. A twist, a swirl, a bend that feels like it could keep going if it weren’t frozen in time. When you wear one of my pieces, I want you to feel that energy, memory, and sense of joy. Whether it reminds you of summer fireworks, childhood treats, or the rhythm of your own day, there’s beauty in those lines that undulate and shimmer with life.
Long before I ever picked up a jeweler’s saw, I was mesmerized by movement. I’d watch a river snake across a meadow from an airplane window and trace the path with my finger on the glass. Ribbon dancers at county fairs, salt-water taffy stretching and folding at the boardwalk candy shop, even the lazy “S” bends of mountain roads I cycled as a kid - they all lodged themselves in my imagination. Curves feel alive; they refuse to sit still. Capturing that restless energy inside a ring or pendant still gives me a thrill every single time.
Most days, my ideas skip the sketchbook and head straight to my hands. I warm a length of wax -sometimes a classic jeweler’s flat sheet wax, sometimes the ancient Japanese blend called Mitsuro Hikime—and pull it like taffy.
If you’re not familiar, Mitsuro Hikime is a centuries-old Japanese wax blend cherished for its ability to stretch and fold into rippling, ribbon-like textures. Sometimes called “honey wax” for its pliable, fluid nature, it captures motion in a way that feels almost alive. Unlike more rigid carving waxes, it reveals its signature striations through movement—each curve coaxed out by hand. For someone like me, always chasing the elegance of a bend or swirl, it’s the perfect medium to bring those ideas to life.
But Mitsuro is also fickle: too cold and it snaps, too warm and it puddles. But at just the right temperature it records every twist, every striation, like slow-motion footage of ribbon candy uncurling. Once I’ve “caught” the curve, I’ll refine the form, sprue it, and cast it.
Other pieces begin as flat sheet wax or even precious-metal sheet and wire. Those have their own rules; heat them wrong and your graceful arc turns into a sharp fold. Yet I love the challenge, with each material having its own structure and tolerances keeps the creative process alive..
Gemstones come last. Pear-cut diamonds echo an elongated swoop; round peridots pop like citrus on a sun-drenched loop of gold. I never shoehorn a gem where it doesn’t want to be; the stone has to feel like it rode that curve into being.
Curves are only half my story—the other half is texture. Mitsuro Hikime naturally freezes ripples that look almost wood-grained. Wirework gives me crisp, high-polish edges that catch light like a racing stripe. Hand engraving adds tiny channels, so shadows can pool and glow. I create the brushed finish to contrast with the brilliant high polished finish creating a truly unique look. No finish is chosen at random; it’s all about guiding your eye along the movement and inspiring you to appreciate the sophisticated play of texture for your jewelry..
1. Pear-Shape Diamond Pendant — “Diamonds Do Good” JCK Award
This pendant began as a flat sheet of wax. The negative space became as important as the gold itself, framing a pear-cut diamond right at the apex. Judges told me the sculptural negative space made the stone feel like it was floating—a perfect example of how space can be as expressive as substance.
2. Mitsuro Statement Ring — InStore Magazine “InDesign” Winner
Working with brittle Mitsuro wax is like balancing on a tightrope, but when it holds, the curves look alive. I paired the finished swirl with a hand-carved shank so it feels like the motion continues all the way around your finger.
3. Ribbon Candy Pendant — JCK Jewelers’ Choice Finalist
My sweet tooth inspired this one: remember those old-fashioned rippled candies stacked in holiday tins? This technique is easier to achieve, since I’m creating the textures and engraving lines before curving the metal.
4. Freestyle Ring — Peridot Edition
Some days my bench feels like organized chaos, and the Freestyle collection bottles that energy. The peridot ring version reminds me of summer hikes: green panoramas, switch-back trails, and the joyful messiness of a day outside.
5. Fingerprint Rings — JCK & NICHE Awards
Photo placement: Fingerprint rings
These are intimate in a different way: gentle undulating ridges cast from real fingerprints. It’s the subtlest curve of all—human identity pressed into metal.
When you slip one of my curved pieces on, I hope it invites a memory: the bike ride that made you feel weightless, the creek that looped behind your childhood home, or the sparkler you wrote your name with under a starry sky. Curves whisper move, explore, remember. Textures beg you to touch, to stay present. If my work does its job, it will give you a little jolt of happiness every time the light hits just right.
If you’re a maker itching to explore movement, start small. Twist scrap wire into tiny loops, study how shadows fall. Keep a “curve journal”: photos of winding roads, doodles of water ripples, snapshots of ribbon candy at the county fair. Inspiration is everywhere once you tune your eyes to it. And if you’re a jewelry lover curious to add curves to your collection, trust your gut. What memory or feeling makes you smile? Seek shapes that echo that joy, and you’ll reach for them again and again.
My next frontier is doubling down on Mitsuro Hikime—pushing its limits until the wax practically sighs into place. I’m experimenting with multi-layer casting, suspending gems inside nested curves so the stones seem to float in mid-eddy. Down the line, I see larger sculptural pieces, maybe even objets d’art, that translate wrist-sized movement into something you could place on a mantel. The language of curves never runs dry; every bend reveals a new dialect.
Thank you for coming along for the ride. Whether you wear my Ribbon Candy pendant or slip on a Freestyle ring, know that you’re carrying a fragment of motion paused—a reminder that life is sweetest when it swoops, swirls, and sparkles.
Ready to find your own curve? Send me a note, share the memory you want to capture, and let’s shape it together—mid-motion, forever.
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