Born near a small forest in Japan, designer Yayoi Inada expresses her stories and experiences through her jewelry.

 Yayoi was raised in Kyoto and Osaka in Japan.  As a child she was drawn to the calm and complete feeling she had whenever she spent time observing and appreciating nature’s beauty.

 After working as an account executive for an advertising agency in Tokyo, Yayoi began to have the desire to express her artistic side. She made a decision to follow her passion and moved to New York to study jewelry design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. In 2003 Yayoi decided to turn her passion into a reality by launching her jewelry collection Yayoi Forest Jewelry.

 “I like to put the feelings of my childhood in the forest into my jewelry, the smell of rain, the warm touch of tree bark on your skin or sitting on a beautiful old tree stump just thinking up my own fairy tales”. All of these memories can be reflected throughout her collections which have a sense of nature and whimsy.

 Yayoi believes that her jewelry should be worn as a lucky charm. She often uses birds in flight or the tree of life to symbolize hope and happiness to the people that wear her jewelry.

Working from her jewelry studio in Brooklyn, New York, Yayoi individually crafts all of her designs by hand using 14K gold or sterling silver. She specializes in hand etching techniques and detailed wax carving to accentuate her appreciation for organic shapes and natural beauty.