Ready To Wear 2024 Collection. (featured above: Kabunian Earrings, Bulul Ring)
alaala noun
(Tagalog) memory, recollection, souvenir
The central theme of this collection is a reconnection to my Filipino heritage. I was adopted from Manila when I was 9 months old and grew up here in the US. Since I can remember I’ve felt a dissonance between the way I’m perceived visually by others and the way I feel inside as an adopted Asian American raised in a white family. I experienced a lot of ignorance growing up due to my ethnicity that manifested in racial harassment and bullying. Through all of this I didn’t have a cultural connection to feel pride in myself to help me through it. I didn’t live in a community with others who looked like me. Growing up between cultures shaped so much of who I am today. This collection contains motifs that are culturally and historically significant in the Philippines. These include ceremonial flowers, pre colonial protective weapons, as well as funerary adornment used to anoint loved ones after they passed. It’s a love letter to a part of my history that’s been lost to time, using symbols of resilience and adoration to create jewelry that celebrates what it means to feel a connection to something in your heart without ever having lived it.
Full collection available in shop
Ready To Wear 2024 Collection. (featured above: Lunar Cascade Earrings)
alaala noun
(Tagalog) memory, recollection, souvenir
The central theme of this collection is a reconnection to my Filipino heritage. I was adopted from Manila when I was 9 months old and grew up here in the US. Since I can remember I’ve felt a dissonance between the way I’m perceived visually by others and the way I feel inside as an adopted Asian American raised in a white family. I experienced a lot of ignorance growing up due to my ethnicity that manifested in racial harassment and bullying. Through all of this I didn’t have a cultural connection to feel pride in myself to help me through it. I didn’t live in a community with others who looked like me. Growing up between cultures shaped so much of who I am today. This collection contains motifs that are culturally and historically significant in the Philippines. These include ceremonial flowers, pre colonial protective weapons, as well as funerary adornment used to anoint loved ones after they passed. It’s a love letter to a part of my history that’s been lost to time, using symbols of resilience and adoration to create jewelry that celebrates what it means to feel a connection to something in your heart without ever having lived it.
Full collection available in shop
Ready To Wear 2024 Collection (Featured above: Solar Flare Earrings, Liddum Earrings, Motherland Brooch)
alaala noun
(Tagalog) memory, recollection, souvenir
The central theme of this collection is a reconnection to my Filipino heritage. I was adopted from Manila when I was 9 months old and grew up here in the US. Since I can remember I’ve felt a dissonance between the way I’m perceived visually by others and the way I feel inside as an adopted Asian American raised in a white family. I experienced a lot of ignorance growing up due to my ethnicity that manifested in racial harassment and bullying. Through all of this I didn’t have a cultural connection to feel pride in myself to help me through it. I didn’t live in a community with others who looked like me. Growing up between cultures shaped so much of who I am today. This collection contains motifs that are culturally and historically significant in the Philippines. These include ceremonial flowers, pre colonial protective weapons, as well as funerary adornment used to anoint loved ones after they passed. It’s a love letter to a part of my history that’s been lost to time, using symbols of resilience and adoration to create jewelry that celebrates what it means to feel a connection to something in your heart without ever having lived it.
Full collection available in shop
Eugene wears Ifugao Double Shield Earrings, Ifugao Shield Brooch, Banaue Rice Terrace Ring
Anthony Sosa in a custom outfit by me. Ombre dyed trousers, ombre tulle jacket, and satin smoke & roses capelet.
The Contrapposto statement bag is inspired by unearthed fragments of ancient sculptures. Suspended from a supple wristlet strap, each bag is constructed from sculpted calf skin leather that is coated in a smooth sheep skin leather veneer. A hinged flap with magnetic closure gives access to your essentials contained within.
Fabric interfacing, plaster, gesso, nylon stocking, steel wire, oil paint, gold foil, ribbon
This headpiece is inspired by the practice of trepanning; a procedure that dates back thousands of years involving drilling/carving a hole into the skull of a patient to release pain/demons/bad humors/mental illness. Although the practice has become obsolete, the notion of purging a physical substance that causes mental pain remains intriguing. This is the banishment of night from the soul, so it may be replaced with dawn.
Progress shots of the process of creating a custom gown for Miss RI USA 2021 for the national Miss USA pageant in Oklahoma. The gown was inspired by the tide pools of Narragansett Bay and featured sea life created from wet sculpted leather, rhinestones, glass beads, mother of pearl, moss, barnacles, and ribbon.
Custom birthday regalia for Janet Jackson.
Swarovski crystal finished in 24k yellow gold plate.
Body harness, necklace, and forearm cuffs for Trinidad + Tobago Carnival 2019
Bespoke Sacred Heart pendant, palm stigmata with blood drop fringe, feet stigmata, and black diamond crown of thorns.
Light Siam, Siam, Garnet, and black diamond Swarovski and Preciosa crystal with gold trim and 24k gold plate.
“Garden of Earthly Delights”
hat | epoxy resin, acrylic, silicone, glass beads, sterling silver
“Crow”
brooch | paper, steel
“Bull**** Fight”
steel, paper, rice paper, paint, brass hardware, nylon cord, satin, embroidery trimmings
“Bernini Halo”
crown | wood, paper, brass, cork, gold leaf
“Dignidad”
crown | bronze
“Conform”
hand object | copper
“Chased study of fingers”
copper
“Brooch for a Lover”
brooch |3D printed 3D scan, paint, steel
“Brooch for a Lover”
brooch |3D printed 3D scan, paint, steel
“Crown for Matthew Shepard”
crown | steel, nail polish
“Polydactyly Ring”
ring | copper