THE PROCESS

It always begins with a rough idea, a few sketches and a good cup of tea.

The technique we use for casting our jewelry is called "lost wax casting", it has been used since at least 6000 years, and of course it has developed in time, but the concept remains the same: a piece of wax of the desired shape is transformed into metal through the casting process.

Once the initial design is approximately defined, Lia begins to sculpt the piece directly in wax. Depending on the design she can use a soft and malleable wax, or a very hard wax.

"I believe our hands after years of practice develop an intelligence of their own. I allow them to shape the piece without interfering too much with thought. The light, the touch, the texture, there's so much to take in consideration when creating volumes and it all comes naturally with experience and time. At some moment it will just feel right, my hands stop, and the piece is done."

Once the first piece in wax is completed it will be casted in the desired metal. If it's a one of a kind piece, we go on with the finishing and polishing; if we would like to reproduce it, we make a mold from this first piece which is called "master".

Our finishing techniques includes stone setting, enameling, engraving, oxidizing depending on the design of the piece.

All our pieces are always and exclusively made by hand, one at the time, by a local community of artisans in New York City. We work with a caster that leads the industry in sustainable practices and our own studio runs on minimal environmental impact.