ARTIST BIO

My jewelry designs are a playful reflection of nature's geometry; beauty that surrounds us everywhere, every day.

The dramatic landscape of coastal California has long inspired my lifestyle and aesthetic. Sweeping cliffs and sandy shores, tumbling waves and tangled kelp, smooth pebbles and seashells-- these elements become the stylized lines and forms that give shape to my work.

My love of jewelry started early, with the gift of a ring from my Spanish grandmother, and later on, my Irish grandfather’s brazing torch became the first jewelry tool in my workshop.  Though my jewelry designs are far from traditional, I feel the echoes of my family’s ancestors and all the things they built and sewed by hand to create beauty in their lives, and feel honored to carry on this tradition.

Each piece of jewelry is made in my San Francisco studio by hand, with sterling silver and high karat gold vermeil, using traditional metalsmithing techniques.  I try to keep my sources and methods simple and sustainable, so the process of making feels joyful and conscious.

I continually challenge myself to create work that is fresh and unexpected, yet easy to wear for any occasion.  I hope these pieces will become the favorites in the your jewelry box!

~Kathleen Maley