Ayaka Nishi is a jewelry brand that is inspired by nature and natural materials. Each unique item has been created and handcrafted by Japanese designer Ayaka Nishi at her New York City studio. Ayaka Nishi's designs have been exhibited at galleries and boutiques in both Tokyo and New York.
Concept
Ms. Nishi believes that our ability to discover beauty in nature is an intrinsic quality that grew as we evolved within the natural world. Ayaka’s creations span from rotating-pedal earrings and spider-web necklaces, to insect-wing broaches and fish scale rings. All her works spring from a singular and sophisticated imagination.
Watching insects, hunting for fossils, stargazing
Ms. Nishi grew up within nature, deep in Kagoshima, a southern Japanese province filled with beauty and natural wonders: the raging ocean all around, Sakura Jima, a volcano lying in its uneasy slumber, woodlands, green hills and tea farms. As a child, she roamed the meadows on long summer days, watching bright insects, reaching out and touching their iridescent bodies. She hunted for fossils, and in the warm dark nights, she gazed at stars. She always communed with nature.
Ikebana: the ancient art of flower arrangement, beauty and natural balance
Flowers and their beautiful coexistence in fields and gardens are an important inspiration for Ms. Nishi. Her mother is an Ikebana expert from the School of Sensho-Ikenobo, and in their house, beautiful arrangements full of surprise and unexpected patterns were always present. Thorns from the wilderness intertwined with imperial flowers; meadow grass mixed with rich leaves and bamboo; roses arranged in harmony with tall weeds: the creativity of Ikebana is endless. Growing up within the Ikebana culture has given Ms. Nishi many perspectives on natural beauty.
What is beauty?
As a university student, Ms. Nishi studied Art History and Aesthetics. The core questions asked whether a creation was functional and had artistic value. To Ms. Nishi, every shape in nature is bound by rules, and every contour exists for a reason. A branch, a string of roots, the delicate network of blood vessels, the enduring spirals of shells -- all are as efficient as beautiful.
Ayaka Nishi is a jewelry brand that is inspired by nature and natural materials. Each unique item has been created and handcrafted by Japanese designer Ayaka Nishi at her New York City studio. Ayaka Nishi's designs have been exhibited at galleries and boutiques in both Tokyo and New York.
