Seriously, it is an exciting time to be in this jewelry industry, because we really are on the brink of much-needed change. Consumers are so much better informed about the importance of knowing where their jewelry comes from, and of course this makes them so much more discriminating. I am grateful to be able to provide so many wonderful people with pieces they can treasure without an ounce of guilt. No sacrifices to anyone else’s health or quality of life, no squandering of natural resources, and no political upheaval required. Now, that is really something to celebrate.

I can’t wait to see what this year will bring. Every day I find out about incredible, inspiring new projects using metal that other artists, metalsmiths and jewelry-makers are involved in, and it makes me all the more passionate about my own work. New design inspirations arise from the most unlikely of moments: knots in a barbed wire fence makes me want a barb-free knotted ring, drinking a latte reminds me of that Carly Simon song “You’re So Vain” (from the year I was born! How dated is that?!) and all day I’m humming “I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee…” and absent-mindedly doodling swirls while answering phone calls. And hearts are everywhere, of course, even in coffee and barbed wire:

photo courtesy of TheLonelyHeart

The orchard isn’t extensive enough to hire a crew to harvest the fruit, so, left to our own devices, we have provided far too many apples for the enjoyment of wandering deer. This weekend I finally got around to buying a fruit-picker basket with telescoping handle to reach those higher branches, and the whole family set to work filling crates with the resulting bounty. We felt very industrious, and my guilt was assuaged just a bit.

Why guilt? I have a confession to make. With all these delicious apples falling to the ground only to become mulch or attract wasps, it may seem baffling that I actually purchase apples at all during this season, but I am a die-hard fan of a particular rare variety that we don’t grow (yet!). It’s only available for a few weeks in the early fall, doesn’t store well and is notoriously impossible to transport because it bruises so easily. But, with a name like Pink Pearl, how can a jewelry lover resist?

When we first moved to this area, I saw a hand-lettered sign with “Pink Pearl Apples” off Gravenstein Highway, and I stopped at Hales Apple Farm to investigate. This apple truly has to be seen and tasted to be believed. The outside is pearly enough, warm and golden with rosy overtones, but when you slice into the marvelous flesh you reveal a shocking, marbleized pink that is simply unreal. The pale skin is thin enough that the hot pink actually shows through somewhat, creating the pearlescent glow. I especially like tart apples, so when I took that first bite I became completely hooked. Now I look forward all year to that precious few weeks when they’re available, and my enjoyment is surely heightened by the deprivation.

My husband teases me mercilessly about this apple gluttony, but now that the Pink Pearls are gone until next August, I can redeem myself by making good use of the newly-harvested mystery apples from our own orchard. Next year, maybe we’ll plant some of my guilty favorites, but in the meantime, I’m playing with pearls of a different variety.

Can you add another couple “nodes” to the vine on my ring?

I love the look of the silver, but I want my wedding ring to wear really well since it’s “forever”. Can you make it in white gold instead?

In most cases, we can accommodate these special requests with no problem. We can alter the twig style a bit to add the particular features and character that you prefer, like additional “nodes” (those little bits off the side that would burst into leaf if the vine continued growing) or a specific texture. We love using heirloom diamonds to make that ring extra-special just for you. We’re even working on rings for men (coming soon!) and some new designs for women as well. We also have worked really hard to satisfy our customer’s requests for white gold, because it’s nearly impossible to use this metal and maintain our commitment to Green jewelry-making practices. (To get the desirable white color, pieces must be rhodium plated, which is not only highly toxic but also wears over time.) We’re excited to provide an alternative that we think is actually an improvement.

Palladium is a precious metal in the platinum family that is durable, lightweight and gorgeous. It’s also remarkably affordable. Raw materials costs are actually less than gold, with somewhat more complicated labor costs, so the price for a palladium ring ends up about the same as our 18K version. No plating or surface treatment is necessary, because the lovely color is the same throughout the piece. To top it all off, it’s even hypoallergenic, which is often not the case with white gold that is frequently alloyed with nickel.

So, why haven’t more people heard of palladium? Platinum was discovered in the 18th century and became widely used in luxury jewelry at the beginning of the 20th, but it wasn’t until 1939 that palladium was recognized as a precious metal with similar potential for jewelry-making. Difficulty in casting made it less commonly-used until recently, when manufacturing improvements and a large-scale marketing campaign have increased public awareness.

We’ve done some really wonderful custom rings this summer in palladium, set with vintage diamonds or a russet-red almandite garnet or even a peachy-orange sapphire. So, when are you ordering yours?

I was introduced to this delightful work through Ecouterre, which is one of my favorite sites to read about cutting edge eco-fashion. From the outlandish and bizarre Chanel bag made from beef jerky to the slightly-creepy yet strangely-intriguing restored Victorian-era dress bejeweled with beetle wings, their features never cease to amaze me. The jewel-beetle dress, in particular, reminded me of my own fascination with the oddities of antique jewelry history when I worked at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, such as misnamed Egyptian-revival “scarab” brooches incorporating those same iridescent beetles, Chinese hair adornments made of brilliant blue kingfisher feathers, and Victorian mourning items of woven human hair. The recycling and repurposing movement in fashion is hardly new.

Beetles and feathers were used in ancient jewelry because it was impossible to manufacture their equal in color and iridescence at the time, and they were surprisingly durable. In the Gothic and Victorian eras, wearing dead animal or insect material was morbidly appealing and did not seem out of place amid a fascination with what Edgar Allen Poe called the “terrors of the soul”.

I’m no Goth girl myself, but I do find the resourcefulness and creativity of early jewelry-makers remarkable. If I could be half as innovative in my own work I would consider it a great accomplishment.

The ten-year reunion of this happy event came and went, and our friend decided to take matters in his own hands. Out of the blue, we received an invitation from him to his own Italian wedding this summer–at that very spot. Of course, there was no way we could refuse.

I’m beside myself with glee. A trip to Florence, Siena and the Maremma, with some of my favorite people ever. I’ve got to start planning my travel wardrobe, don’t you think? I had some fun with Polyvore, putting together an inspiration board with organic, sustainable, eco-friendly apparel from Rag & Bone, the Podolls, Stewart+Brown, Edun and Kim White to wear with okomido jewelry. If you’re a Polyvore fan, you can even access the jewelry images I saved there and use them for your own creative wardrobe styling. Hope you enjoy!

Italy by okomido featuring wooden sandals

I hope the mothers in your life receive as thoughtful and evocative a gift as this one. They deserve it.

photos courtesy of Debbie Wiegmann

In honor of the season, I also just had to share with you a stunning photo I stumbled across by photographer Ed Buziak, because it just looked so jewel-like. Isn’t it amazing?

We haven’t got room for it all anymore–not on the topmost shelf of the pantry where we stash the lollipops and candy bars uneaten as soon as everyone’s attention has turned to something else. I imagine how nice it would be if I could melt it all down, refining the scrap the way I do with metal, to become something new again. Instead it all just sits there, gathering dust until I throw it in the trash.

To be clear, I think our sweethearts deserve their SweetHearts. (And, my appreciation for artisan-made truffles has been chronicled here on this very blog.) Still, I can’t help but think that the message we give to our children is a little confused. We tell them that we’re celebrating an event, or a person, by giving them something special–but we water the specialness of it down from one holiday to the next, until it’s nothing more than a recurring sugar rush and a head start on tooth decay.

What can be done? Is there no more creative solution?

Of course, if you or your sweetheart is wrestling with this same dilemma, I recommend a chocolate gift that will last forever.

New diamond-studded versions of our super sweet Vineyard Stacking Rings, in 18K, sterling and chocolate shakudo, of course. Aren’t they yummy?

The truth is that I’m not really interested in finger-wagging, and there is so much beautiful jewelry out there that I can appreciate and covet as much as the next girl, even if it’s not exactly Green. For myself, however, I found that once down the rabbit hole, there’s no turning back. I spent a good deal of my childhood a few miles away from a former hydraulic gold mine in the foothills of the Sierra-Nevada mountains, and I’ve never forgotten that wasteland in the middle of a woodland paradise. Much later, when I started designing jewelry, I did some research on the issue which convinced me that it just isn’t worth it to use newly-mined metals. Perhaps at some point, responsibly-mined metals will become widely available, but for now, there is simply no reason not to recycle the vast quantities of scrap gold, discarded and broken jewelry out there.

Did you know that one 18K gold wedding band from virgin metal leaves in its wake over 20 tons of waste, contaminating water and air and requiring devastatingly costly disposal? Unbelievably toxic substances like cyanide, mercury and arsenic are involved in the current most popular practice of open-pit mining, remaining toxic for decades and proving extremely difficult to contain. If you’re interested in more on the subject, there’s a quick-read from the Washington Post’s environmental column The Green Lantern, or a longer National Geographic article with amazing photography. If you don’t mind paying a couple of bucks, you can even download an episode from iTunes of the Sundance Channel’s show Eco Trip about the “real costs” of that gold ring from a not-so-responsible mine right here in the US.

Feels pretty good to wear okomido jewelry, now doesn’t it?

I find this history fascinating, since it dates back to the 15th century in Japan and possibly earlier in ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt. Traditionally used as a base for inlays, shakudo was just one of the many alloys and accompanying patinas used in sword fittings (handles, guards, etc.) for Japanese samurai. In the late nineteenth century when the samurai class was abolished, this outmoded craft was resuscitated to serve the Western demand for Orientalist jewelry in the form of bracelets and brooches. Today, shakudo is most often used in the technique of mokume-gane, which is a layered metal process that creates a rather contemporary wood-grain pattern. There are also a handful of artisans who still create incredibly detailed, museum-worthy, decorative art pieces, like these gorgeous wood and metal boxes by Jim Kelso:


Photos courtesy of Jim Kelso

A traditional shakudo alloy is mostly copper with 2 – 25% gold, which is then treated with a chemical solution to achieve a typical matte, deep blue-black or purplish color. The percentages of gold and copper and the formula for the patina solution we use for the okomido version were carefully calibrated to create our signature chocolate-brown rather than the more traditional black.

The patina is a surface treatment, rather than “oxidization”, strictly speaking. While this does mean a bit of special care is required, one of the attractive features is what I call a “living finish” that is personalized by the wearer. Bright coppery highlights will develop with wear, but the chocolate color will actually regenerate on its own in those spots after awhile. It’s remarkable, and the salt air will accelerate the process if you are near the ocean! We do lacquer items to provide an additional protective layer, and this can be periodically reapplied if desired.

I like to tell people that despite its samurai origins, swash-buckling activity is not recommended with our shakudo jewelry! Similar to pearls, it’s best to remove the jewelry while showering, doing dishes, gardening, exercising, applying lotions or perfumes, etc. because deep gouges/scratches will not regenerate and cleaning products will eventually remove any protective coating. Cleaning should only involve a soft cloth and never any polishing compounds or abrasive cleansers.

To my knowledge, no other designer is using this exceptional metal in quite the same way, and it is gratifying to revive such a valuable piece of jewelry history and reinvent it for a whole new generation.