I grew up in the mountains of Hawai‘i, surrounded by wide open skies and endless ocean. This is where my love for jewelry and gold truly originates from. My earliest memories were of the sounds of Hawaiian bracelets jingling together — whether it was at my mother’s or my grandmother’s house; the women in my life walking down the halls as I slept.

In the 80s, my father had a gold rope chain that never left his neck. The way it sparkled in the sun while we all played in the ocean is an image I’ll never forget. The gold jewelry of my homeland runs deep and holds so much meaning. I’m now a mommy to an incredibly dynamic 16-year-old, who’s also been raised to love her jewelry, keeping it near and dear to her.

I’m a globe-trotting photographer and model who first started in front of the camera at the age of 11. Acting eventually brought me to Los Angeles at 14 as one of the original Disney movie girls. Now, as a self-taught photographer of 12 years, I prefer being behind the lens.

Photography became my main creative outlet — but in recent years, I’ve immersed myself in the age-old process of lost wax. Each piece begins in wax then is cast in gold. It’s a purely tactile process. One that gives me a new kind of art-making — a quiet counterbalance to my photographs. It holds real inspiration for me. A departure from screens, edits, and social media. A place to sit down, slow down, and focus my imagination into something I can actually hold in my hands. Making jewelry is what I’ve always felt destined to do.

That background — emotional, tactile, visual — is the foundation of how I design.