The Custom Design Ceremony™
A private atelier experience · Portland, Oregon
Most people arrive here having never worked with a jewelry designer before. They have a feeling they can’t quite name — something about wanting a ring that holds the weight of what it actually means, not just what it costs. That feeling is exactly where we begin.
The Design Ceremony™ is the process I’ve developed over more than a decade of making custom rings for people at the most meaningful moments of their lives. It is intentional, collaborative, and unhurried. By the end of it, what exists is something that could not have come from anywhere else.
Like any living thing, your ring doesn’t arrive fully formed. It opens — slowly, intentionally, one layer revealing the next. Each stage of the Design Ceremony is a petal in that unfolding. Together they become something whole.
The First Petal — The Conversation
Every bloom begins underground, in the quiet before anything is visible.
We begin not with sketches or stone charts, but with you. You’ll tell me about the person you love, the places that have shaped you, the objects that have always felt like yours. I’ll ask questions that might surprise you — about memory, about texture, about the moments that changed the shape of your life. None of it is idle. All of it becomes the design.
This is the root of everything that follows.
The Second Petal — The Sketch
The first tender thing to emerge from the earth — fragile, full of promise, already distinctly itself.
After our conversation, I draw. By hand, on paper, the way I was trained as an architect — beginning with feeling before moving into form. The sketch is where your story finds its shape. We’ll look at it together, refine it together, until what’s on the page feels not just right but inevitable. Most clients tell me this is the moment it becomes real.
The Third Petal — The Stone
The heart of the flower. The thing the whole design orients itself around.
Once the design has its direction, we select your stone — from my curated library of sapphires, diamonds, tourmalines, rubies, and other carefully sourced gems, each with its own particular light and character. I believe the stone and the setting should choose each other. We take this step with care. If you have a family stone or heirloom you’d like to bring into the design, this is where its new life begins.
The Fourth Petal — The Prototype
The bud, just before it opens. Close enough to touch. Close enough to know.
Before anything is cast in metal, you hold your ring. Working with my trusted production partner, the design becomes a precise 3D model and then a wearable resin prototype. You’ll try it on. You’ll feel its weight, see how it moves in the light, notice whether anything wants to shift. This step exists because I believe you should never be surprised by something you’ll wear every day for the rest of your life.
The Fifth Petal — The Bloom
The moment it opens fully. The moment it becomes what it always was meant to be.
Once the prototype feels exactly right, your ring is cast in the metal of your choice and your stone is set by skilled, careful hands. The finishing is deliberate and thorough. When I place it in yours — or send it to you across the distance — it is complete. It has been yours since the first conversation. Now it simply looks like it.
Who This Is For
The Design Ceremony is for those who value:
- Meaningful, story-driven design
- Handcrafted heirloom jewelry
- A slow, thoughtful creative process
- One-of-a-kind pieces made just for them
Whether you are celebrating love, honoring family history, or creating something deeply personal, this ceremony is designed to give your jewelry the care and intention it deserves.
Begin Your Design Ceremony
If you feel a spark, you’re ready.
Click below to schedule your private Design Ceremony.
A $500 invoice will be emailed upon booking to reserve your time.