Angie and Joe Kastner

Angie and Joe chose the Aulaire and the Marina as their wedding bands and were married in Santa Barbara on July 12th, 2008. We were overjoyed when Angie forwarded pictures from their album, including a special shot of their rings.

Accent on Design

Kazu, Jeanine, and Julia are photographed in the “wholesale atelier” at the Accent on Design show in New York.

Drawings from the Studio

I did these using my favorite space pen at the Met.

"God is in the details." -Mies Van Der Rohe

This is me putting the finishing touches on the gold ball inlay that I have incorporated into many of the new pieces for August. The red pitch is heated until soft and the pieces are melted into it. Once it cools the pitch is hard creating a supportive background for working the metal.

Notes from JP: Designs in Progress

The three rings on the left are guache painted wax models that I use as part of my design process. The one with the yellow center is a small version of the Crete ring. This part is actually sort of playful, and I allow myself to experiment and try out new ideas based on what is currently interesting and inspiring to me. You will notice along with the drawings and poetry on the cork board, there is a post card with a photo of one of San Francisco artist Ruth Asawa's woven wire sculptures that hang in the de Young Museum. Ruth is a family friend, and her life and work are an inspiration to me.

Elvedina wearing Elvedina

Elvedina is pictured here wearing the Elvedina necklace. She’s been with Jeanine Payer Studios since 1999. Elvedina specializes in leatherwork as well as metalsmithing and is one of the hottest smiths on the block.

Congratulations to Stefane and Remi....

We recently had the pleasure of meeting Stefane and Remi who came all the way from France to pick up their custom engraved weddings bands in our retail store. They were married on June 21^st, 2008. Congratulations to you both!

Sheryl Crow at Hard Rock Calling

Sheryl Crow is seen wearing the Bennett ring at Hard Rock Calling in London. The Police, Eric Clapton and The Bangles also performed.

The Past Revisited

As Jeanine Payer approaches twenty years in business, those of us in the studio have been digging through old boxes of photographs and reminiscing about how it all started. Jeanine first began designing jewelry for herself and her friends out of vintage sewing notions and old millinery supplies she found in Paris and locally at one of San Francisco’s most unique shops, Bell'occhio. At that time, Jeanine’s assemblage jewelry incorporated antique French brass buckles, velvet ribbon and miniature flowers, the majority of them bought at Bell’occhio, which is tucked away on Brady Street here in the city.

Jeanine’s jewelry has changed over the years as her travels continue to inspire her. She now designs exclusively in silver and precious metals and has begun re-releasing select styles with limited availability as part of the Jeanine Payer Archive Collection.

Inspiration and Technique

I recently attended my third class with Sensei Naohiro Yamada at the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts here in our building. This was part of their Master’s Symposium and we used the ancient techniques of Zougan and Hori (inlay and engraving) using tools we made last year. Sensei Yamada comes from a long line of sword makers going back 400 years and he owns an atelier in Tokyo where he teaches, mentors, and creates a collection of highly detailed and beautiful jewelry. It was an honor to be able to learn from him again and to be inspired and pushed by the discipline that is required with this kind of work. I am excited about these techniques showing up in future collections.

The Newest Addition to the JP Team

We are proud to present Baby William, the newest member of the JPI team! We look forward to seeing him grow into a fine young man and he will hopefully be running around the office in the very near future.

William

Jeanine and William

Grandpa Belmer and baby William

From the JP Team: A relaxing day out of the Studio

Here are some photos from our most recent JPI outing. Luckily weather permitted and we were able to enjoy a sunny Friday afternoon at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

Ari, Craig, Joel, Kazu, Elvedina, Sedina, Daniela, Izeta, Katy and Chie

Princess and Janet

Joel




























Phoebe and Faith

Megan F. on National Poetry Month

We are proud to be participating in the Life Lines poetry contest in honor of National Poetry Month.The winner will have their "life line" hand-engraved on a specially chosen piece. To enter click here.

Inaugurated by the Academy in April 1996, National Poetry Month (NPM) brings together publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools, and poets around the country to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events. For more information, visit Poets.org