Inside the Atelier

THE UNSEEN

What reaches you is the final form. What this journal shows is everything before that — the casting, the shaping, the hours it takes to get a piece right in a small Kyoto studio. We make in sterling silver because silver changes over time. It tarnishes, it deepens, it becomes more itself the longer you wear it. We think the same should be true of how we make things: visible, unhurried, and honest about the process.

#01 THE DESIGN

Features Shirushi Pendant

Every piece starts on paper. Before any wax is carved or silver is poured, the design goes through multiple drafts — each one working out the proportions, the symbol, the weight of the form. This is the final sketch of the Shirushi Pendant: the version we committed to. The kanji at the center, the irregular edge of the disc, the way the bail sits — all of it decided here, in pencil, before anything becomes permanent.

#02 THE FIRST FORM

Features Shirushi Pendant

The initial form takes shape in the atelier's hands. Every edge, every surface worked directly — no machine finds the right roughness here. This is where the piece stops being a drawing and starts being a thing.

#03 “THE CHRISTMAS TREE”

Features Shirushi Pendant, Nagare Pendant

Once the prototype is finalized, it becomes a mold — and the mold makes this. Multiple Shirushi Pendants cast together in a single pour, all branching from one stem. We call it the Christmas tree. From here, each one gets cut free and finished by hand. The same piece, made one at a time.

#04 TWO HALVES

Features Kinrei Pendant

The Kinrei's two halves are finished separately. The gold mountain, polished here against the wheel. The silver disc, worked on its own. They only come together at the very end.

#05 ASSEMBLING THE KINREI

Features Kinrei Pendant

Before and after, in the same frame. The gold mountain is set last. Until then, it's just a silver disc with an empty circle — waiting for the piece that makes it the Kinrei.

#06 THE FIRE

Features Shirushi Pendant

Newly cast Shirushi pieces are heated over flame while being adjusted with tweezers on a soldering block. This step softens the metal and releases tension from casting, preparing each piece for shaping, correction, and further refinement by hand.

#07 CLEANING

Features Shirushi Pendant, Nagare Pendant, Kioku Pendant

Freshly cast silver pieces enter a magnetic tumbling bath in our atelier, surrounded by stainless-steel pins, water, and cleaning compound. The process clears away residue from casting and begins the first stage of surface refinement before hand-finishing.

#08 AFTER THE FIRST CLEAN

Features Kioku Pendant, Nagare Pendant

Newly cleaned pieces are sorted into trays after the first stage of post-casting cleanup. The forms are already visible, but the surfaces remain unfinished — still waiting for final correction, edge refinement, and hand-applied surface treatment.

#09 WAITING FOR THE FINAL HAND

Features Kioku Pendant, Nagare Pendant

After cleaning, the pieces are dried and sorted by design before returning to the bench. The silver has been cleared of residue, but the final surface is not complete yet — each piece still needs hand-finishing, correction, and assembly before it is ready to wear.

#10 SURFACE, BEFORE AND AFTER

Features Toge Pendant, Nagare Pendant

Pieces are shown side by side in two surface states. The brighter pieces remain in their raw, unfinished condition after early processing, while the darker ones have already been through the final stage of surface processing - brought closer to their final surface finish.

#11 FINAL CHECKING

After cleaning, the pieces are dried and sorted by design before returning to the bench. The silver has been cleared of residue, but the final surface is not complete yet — each piece still needs hand-finishing, correction, and assembly before it is ready to wear.