Meet The Handmade Workshop

All Jewelry Originating from the Handmade Workshop is Identified as 'Handcrafted' in Product Name & Description

For years, our Handcrafted jewelry has been created by our friends and partners in Kyiv, Ukraine, a close-knit team of artisans brought together by a shared fascination with the myths, symbols, and artistic traditions of the Norse and Slavic worlds.

After years of continuing their craft amid the realities of war in Ukraine, the people behind the workshop have now relocated to Paris, France, where they have reestablished their workshop to begin a new chapter.

The surroundings may have changed, but the people, designs, and craftsmanship behind the collection remain the same. From the first model to casting and final finishing, our Handcrafted pieces continue to be produced by the same team that has shaped this collection over the years.

The workshop’s Ukrainian origins have always been an important part of its creative identity. The historical connections between Eastern Europe and Scandinavia stretch back more than a thousand years, particularly to the Viking Age and the emergence of the Kyivan Rus.

Scandinavian traders and warriors travelled the river routes of Eastern Europe, interacting and settling among local Slavic populations. Known in historical sources as the Varangians, they became closely associated with the early Rus and the trade routes connecting Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and the Byzantine Empire.

Varangian warriors would later become famous farther south as well. The Byzantine emperors recruited Scandinavian and Rus warriors into the Varangian Guard, an elite military unit that served the emperor for centuries.

This meeting of Nordic and Slavic history, mythology, ornamentation, and symbolism continues to influence many of the pieces created by the workshop today.

What is the making process?

Every Handcrafted piece begins with a design.

Drawing inspiration from historical ornamentation, archaeological artifacts, mythology, and traditional Nordic and Slavic motifs, designs are developed into detailed models. Modern computer-assisted design and sculpting techniques allow intricate knotwork, runes, animals, symbols, and textures to be shaped with the precision required for casting in metal.

Once a design has been prepared for production, the piece is created in metal using jewelry casting techniques.

Depending on the design, a master model and mold are used to reproduce the piece. The casting process allows the fine relief, recessed details, textures, and three-dimensional forms of the original model to be transferred into sterling silver, bronze, or other specified precious metals.

This is especially important for the deeply ornamented designs found throughout our Handcrafted collection, where even small details form an essential part of the finished piece.

Casting creates the fundamental form, but it does not create the finished piece. After casting, each piece must be individually cleaned and worked by hand. Casting channels and excess material are removed, surfaces are filed and refined, and individual components are prepared for assembly.

Depending on the design, the artisan may also size, shape, solder, straighten, or otherwise work the metal to bring the piece to its intended final form.

More complex jewelry may consist of several separately produced components. Bails, loops, clasps, decorative elements, and other parts are fitted and soldered or assembled where required.

This stage combines the precision of casting with the individual handwork of traditional jewelry making. Each piece is handled, adjusted, and finished individually rather than simply coming off a production line as a completed product.

The final stages are what bring much of the character of the jewelry to life.

The piece is progressively cleaned and polished to refine its surfaces and remove marks left during casting and assembly. On many designs, a darkened patina is then applied to recessed areas, creating contrast that brings knotwork, runes, textures, and other fine details into sharper relief.

Raised surfaces are polished again to produce the characteristic contrast between bright metal and darker recessed ornamentation seen throughout the collection. Any remaining details are finished by hand before the piece undergoes its final inspection.

Once completed, each piece is inspected by the workshop, prepared for shipment, and begins its journey to its new owner.

For the artisans behind our Handcrafted collection, that journey has now taken on another meaning as well. After years of creating these pieces in Ukraine, including through extraordinarily difficult circumstances during the war, the team has carried their tools, knowledge, designs, and craft with them to Paris, France.

It is a new home and a new chapter for the workshop, but a continuation of the same craft.

From the first design and casting to the final patina and polish, every Handcrafted piece passes through many stages and many hours of work before it reaches your hands.

We hope you enjoy wearing it as much as the workshop team enjoyed bringing it to life.