I made this cuff for my dad for his birthday. For years we called him Panfilo, which derived from Pa (pop), and also means “kind” or “friend to all” in Greek.
One day, towards the end of his life, he told us he had always hated that nickname. After a lifetime trying to make others happy, I was glad he finally stood up for himself and told us what he wanted! This piece has inspired my next series.
I created my first jewelry collection seven years ago this month. Since then, I have designed and hand-built over 1,500 one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces.
I still consider myself a beginner.
These are some of my favorite pieces from the past seven years.
Most of them have sold, and I do not repeat them.
You can see what is available in my online shop.
The Seed bracelets are now in my online shop. If you no longer see the piece you are looking for, that means it has already sold.
I will add the Seed bracelets to my online shop tomorrow, between 1 and 2 pm, Mexico City time. Sign up here if you want me to notify you the minute they are available.
Hills covered in grass, wet earth, deep breaths.
Grassland Bracelet.
Handmade with jade and 100% recycled sterling silver.
I once read an interview where an artist couple was asked how they learnt their craft. We had to make a lot of mistakes until we got really good –they replied– and then we had to get bad again, because being really good is not that interesting.
Origin bracelet.
Handmade with hawk's eye and 100% recycled sterling silver.
Next week in my online shop.
I tend to have lucid dreams in which fears that are usually at the back of my mind act out as characters. In my latest dream, I am visiting an old amusement park made of mud and rock. I used to visit it when I was younger to play in the shallow pools, hiding treasures in stone temples.
Now I am there with Abhaya and we are given a tour. The place seems slightly different, but not much, except that things move around as I look at them. Bits of land turn into islands and float away, and shrines slide off walls. One contains a weathered Nintendo console I once hid, but it drifts off as soon as I recognize it.
For fun, I decide to jump off a cliff into a deep pool, but as I fall and fall and fall I wonder why I never reach the water. The guide tells me I am not really falling. I am on a platform that is simulating a fall through virtual reality technology. I am perplexed. The world is no longer as I know it.
Relic bracelet.
Handmade with natural turquoise and 100% recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
Every idea is a seed...
Amber Seed bracelet.
Handmade with amber from Chiapas and 100% recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
My wrists have been unadorned for a long time. I think it's time to make bracelets...
When I began to make jewelry six years ago, I rarely liked what was available, and the pieces I did appreciate were beyond my budget. As a creative self starter, the obvious solution was to make my own designs.
After experimenting for a year, I began to develop a distinctive voice as a jeweler, and decided to try to make a living selling my work. From the start I used sterling silver –which is expensive– so I rarely kept anything I made. As soon as I sold a piece, I turned around and bought enough silver to make the next. In this way, I grew my business, and eventually made enough money to make jewelry that I could keep.
When I decided to make a cast collection and replicate my best pieces, I had to keep the original in sterling silver in case the rubber mold was ever damaged. And so, my personal jewelry collection kept growing.
Now, I rarely leave my house unadorned. I feel protected and powerful when I wear my jewelry. Every piece in my collection has polished with time, and like old tools that are given good use, they become more beautiful with wear.
People ask me if I find it hard to let go of my work. If I knew that the piece I just made would be my last, I would certainly keep it. But I hope to live a long and productive life, and the pleasure I get from creating my work is greater than the one I obtain from wearing it. I also confess that every now and then I can't resist making myself something I love.
