A Grandmother's Garden

Who: Yasuko Azuma
What: Handcrafted Jewelry
Where: New York, NY
Web: http://yasukoazuma.com/index.php/main/
Why: Yasuko spent much of her childhood in her grandmother's garden in Japan, so she is gently influenced by the environment she remembers...abundant cherry blossoms, the sparkling sun glinting off of newly fallen snows, stream-polished pebbles. Those nature-bound aesthetics show up in her jewelry as beautifully simple, rustic designs, muted hues and her own signature hand-hammered "diamond dust" texturing. She is transitioning over to using 100% recycled gold and silver, and she donates 10% of the gross proceeds from her Love & Peace and Language of Flowers collections to Unicef. All good reasons to love her work!