I’m currently writing this blog post amongst a sea of mess and chaos. My house is a complete disaster and I’m trying to reorganize my office before the holiday madness, but I had to stop and shout it from the rooftop how excited I am about this new custom piece that just arrived from Sea Pony Couture!
Fati Genese is the creative designer and maker behind Sea Pony Couture, which is a jewelry line that specializes in inlay work. The art of inlay is such a unique and increasingly rare medium — it is hard to find artists who cut and inlay their own stones, especially ones on the younger end of the age spectrum. After coming across Sea Pony Couture, I was not only intrigued and impressed, but fell in love with her work. I had to know more about her and her talent…
Fati is based in Oakland, California and has been focused on jewelry since 2012. She first began apprenticing for a Bay Area goldsmith and from there she explored inlay work over an extensive jewelry intensive workshop in New Mexico. She says, “I gravitated towards inlay because I was having a difficult time finding real inspiration. I wasn’t necessarily searching for ideas, just the raw feeling that happens when you are energized and focused. When you own a creative business, you rely heavily on feeling activated by your surroundings in order to be prolific in design. I found out about an all women’s jewelry skillshare and intensive in New Mexico. It was a brand new craft to me that none of the 70+ Bay Area jewelers in my studio or even my past mentors knew about.”
When I set out to get a custom piece created, my first instinct was to browse the Sea Pony Couture Instagram and screenshot my favorite pieces — some for the design that spoke to me, some because of the stone combinations that were used. Her work is so great that I started to screenshot almost every post, but then I tried reflecting on what would go with my current jewelry wardrobe favorites and I thought “what would I wear the most?” I decided on a tubular pendant, as long, vertical charms are a category that I love and wear often. I let Fati takeover from there and trusted her creativity with the inlay design and stones she picked to use.
Speaking of gemstones, I asked her what are some of her favorites gemstones to work with. Here’s what she had to say, “Workability is a strong factor. Many of the gemstones that I would like to use are not ideal for inlay. There is a nice balance of hardness and softness that you stay within when doing inlay. I don’t have a particular stone that I like the most. I really enjoy the process of splicing them all together. I am inclined to like colorways more than stones on their own. I am a sucker for juxtaposition and experimentation. One of my favorite colorways includes Dark Red Plume Agate, Apatite, Carnelian, and Mookaite Jasper.”
I was so thrilled with the outcome after seeing a mockup sketch Fati drew — and it was so cool to see the process photos of my piece come to life. I’ve been wearing it ever since it arrived at my doorstep! I put it on a 20″ box chain and love where the mid-length of the piece falls with my necklace stack. She mentions on her website that she hopes the pieces she creates “inspire personal meaning and amplify inner strength” and that’s exactly what this piece is doing for me!
Sharon Zimmerman January 29, 2021 at 1:41 pm:
I love Fati’s work so much and I am both thrilled for and jealous of you for getting this piece! So rare to find metalsmiths who are also amazing at inlay work.