Thank you for visiting my website.
There is a Zen phrase in Japan “Ichigo-Ichie” which means, “treasure every encounter, for it will never recur.” Each moment is always an once-in-a-lifetime experience. it is a miracle that you have visited my website and are interested in my Jewellery.
All of my jewellery pieces are one-of-a-kind.
I take pride in crafting each piece of jewellery by hand, ensuring that every creation is truly one-of-a-kind.
I am always fascinated with shapes, wherever I go I search for them. I am drawn to forms from nature, carved details in sculpture, shadows from a corner of building, even curiously shaped vegetables make me so happy, especially when I can see a shape but no one else has noticed it.
I usually do some calligraphy before I start each day. I love the lines that a brush stroke makes, some straight lines are so brave, and some curved lines are generous and considerate. These lines are all finding some space to live in harmony.
Some of my jewellery is made with Mitsuro Hikime – a lost wax technique using Beeswax, I love the lines that the wax creates. The wax dictates its own movement so I simply follow it, its movement is so supple and graceful but has strength. My role is to breathe into this wax a new life. The wax can be so temperamental that whilst I am drawing it I sometimes forget to breathe, but the result of my breathlessness is unbeatable. The lines represent how I felt at that moment and that moment is unique and important.
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Inspired by Japanese heritage
When I was a child, I remember vividly that my auntie always wore beautiful hairpins. She always wore a kimono for work as she was a Japanese traditional guitar player. So her hair had to be beautifully set every day and decorated with beautiful kanzashi hair pins. They were usually silver or turtle shell inlayed with some mother of pearl or with pearls or coral. I remember the shimmer that the pearls made when she moved and the noise that the silver tassels made. I can say that my fascination with jewellery had begun there.
Hallmarked by Birmingham Assay Office
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Made in Oxfordshire
Check out kumiko’s interview with Kernowcraft on their YouTube Channel.
Jewellery Inspired By Japanese Heritage & Philosophy With Kumiko (kernowcraft.com)
I would like to think my design concept is like an absolute state of balance with human being and nature. We appreciate that the course of nature continues despite other issues occurring in life, such as the pandemic. We become thankful for the natural forces. My jewellery is like an apology and also an expression of gratitude towards nature. I always try to draw attention to the inside space in my work. In Japan we call it “Ma” where I focus most on “the emptiness”. I love the way that the object creates shadows which describe the emptiness. I usually draw first with my Japanese ink and a brush. It makes sense when I see the lines and the space these lines create. It is like a ritual for me to clear my mind a bit.
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