about
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Kathryne Cassis
Designer
I have always loved places where art & artifacts dwell: museums and art galleries—beautiful objects always seem to speak in strange whispers of mysteries and visions . . .
And I have always loved jewelry. As a little girl I would watch my mom at her dressing table clasping on a necklace to go out, or putting on her earrings. My dad brought her necklaces from Paris and bracelets from Italy when he was a flyer in the Navy. We would rummage through her jewelry box admiring and trying things on.
So it seemed natural to start designing jewelry, and now I search the world over for antique & vintage findings, combine them with gem stones, fresh water pearls, curiosities from far away places, bronze, silver and burnished copper to create one-of-a-kind necklaces and earrings that are extraordinarily romantic and fiercely timeless.
Each piece in the collection is handmade by me, and has a theme that is both aesthetic and reflective. My inspiration comes from curios, gardens, talismanic stones, the boulevards of Paris, the quays of Venice, creatures of all kinds, the colors of forest & sea, secret backstage rooms, ancient ruins, goddesses and faeries, labyrinths, runes, dreams, lost philosophies, mythic novels and mystical adventures. In my pieces you’ll see influences from the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, aesthetics from Medieval times to Edwardian, from the Art Nouveau and Deco eras, the Arts & Crafts style and beyond.
I am also a dancer, known for my interpretations & staging of the work of Isadora Duncan (I was greatly honored to win a Lester Horton Award for Dance in Los Angeles) and I think that dance and jewelry have many things in common: form, line, grace and the extraordinary feeling that comes with being in touch with something beautiful.
Dominion of Light Jewels is located in Emeryville California, just across the bay from San Francisco. If you live nearby, or are traveling to the Bay area, I invite you to contact me to stop by and browse through the collections in person!