In the atelier

From Dental Technology to Jewelry Making

It might seem like the opposite now, but as a child, I detested anything involving making things, like crafts or plastic models. I preferred playing outside or being active in club activities.
A turning point came after I enrolled in a dental technician vocational school. My family runs a dental clinic, and I chose this path thinking I could contribute to the family business. However, once I started school, I discovered the fascination of creation and became completely engrossed. The tools used in dental technology, which involve metal processing, are largely suitable for jewelry making as well. At the time, I was interested in fashion, so I began crafting accessories for myself. Incidentally, the dental tools from that era are still in active use in my work today.



Driven by the desire to avoid wearing designs identical to others, I developed my own methods for creating the base structures of jewelry, mastering everything through self-study. Students who attended formal engraving schools might scoff, thinking, "That's not right!"

Discovering the possibilities of metal processing at vocational school, I found myself spending countless hours in the dental technology workshop attached to my family's clinic, immersed in creation. After graduating from dental technician school, I pursued somewhat unconventional paths, working as a stylist and a professional rock climber, all while continuing to make my own accessories.

I enjoyed reflecting my influences in my designs, such as using motifs inspired by climbing ropes. One day, through a friend, I had the opportunity to apprentice at a fashion brand specializing in leather, which led to my encounter with leather. My conviction then was that leather is a living material. Even when making small items like leather wallets, a significant amount of leather scraps are produced. Seeing them all discarded, I felt a sense of pity. I decided to take all these small leather pieces home and consider how I could incorporate them into my accessory making.
Initially, I simply rounded and stitched them. Friends in the fashion industry told me it was impossible to make rings this way. However, through repeated trial and error, I succeeded in devising a method for setting stones into leather rings. Ultimately, I was able to obtain a design patent for this jewelry.

The Fusion of Leather and Stone: The Birth of nineSIXty

The first stone I set in a leather ring was turquoise. I took a relatively large piece of turquoise belonging to my mother, broke it into smaller pieces with a hammer, and then polished it into a beautiful spherical shape. This could be considered the prototype of what would become nineSIXty. Subsequently, I began receiving orders not only from myself but also from friends, gradually starting to create jewelry for others.



It was four years later that the name nineSIXty began to be used for my brand. At the time, I was traveling to Thailand, partly for leisure and partly for jewelry sourcing, and I spent my days surrounded by and touching an immense quantity of silver and gemstones.
It was then that I conceived the idea of naming my brand after "96%," a figure close to the midpoint of silver purity used in jewelry. The number "96" is symmetrical, appearing the same when flipped, much like the yin and yang symbol. I felt it perfectly symbolized my philosophy of craftsmanship, which values a natural mindset that remains unchanged regardless of circumstances.



From then on, I began to actively explore a wide variety of materials, including metals like silver, gold, and platinum; minerals such as diamonds, turquoise, and onyx; as well as wood and ceramics. For the leather used as the base of rings, in addition to standard oiled leather, I investigated the design possibilities with various leathers, including lizard and crocodile. I developed numerous stitching patterns for setting minerals and metals, and nineSIXty evolved into the brand it is today, creating one-of-a-kind, custom-made jewelry. I myself am now living each day with making things as my lifework.

In the next installment, I plan to discuss some of my favorite nineSIXty models, my encounter with Lucien Pellat-Finet, and my own design philosophy.