Masumi Hayashi
What got you started into jewelry making?
Jewelry making was a new thing for me after I came here, New York. I used to work in a fashion company in Tokyo before coming to New York. I was an accessory designer for them. So I designed bags, jewelry, hats, and ties. Those kinds of things. But I didn't make them myself. I just designed and had a contractor to make them for the brand. I loved fashion, but it was a very tough job, especially in Japan. I had to work from morning to midnight everyday.
But I loved designing jewelry or bags. First of all, I came here to learn English because I didn't plan to stay longer. Like, I thought one year or up to three years, and wanted to go back to Japan. But I ended up staying in NY for 21 years already.
Wow. Something made you stick around.
I loved NY so much. Yeah. I went to language school and learned a little bit because before that I couldn't speak any English at all. However after one year, I was just bored [only] learning English. I was like, "Maybe I should do what I want to do." Then I looked for designers who are looking for assistants.
Work benches from left to right: for wax carving, metal work, solder.
I found one guy, an old Jewish, Israeli guy. He was really a true craftsman. He's been making jewelry for over 20 years. [When he was younger], he worked for Tiffany. As a jeweler, not as a designer. He did setting the stones, soldering, etc. He knew everything. He really has a good eye for the details and things. So he taught me everything from scratch. I didn't go to jewelry school. Instead I learned everything needed for jewelry making as an apprentice. How to solder, how to file, how to carve the wax and things.
That's amazing! He went ahead and hired you and taught you everything.
[When he wanted me to try something new, he would give me a project. I would spend] too many hours, but I got into it. My hands are really pretty good working with the tiny small pieces. So that's the way I learned [jewelry making].
One time he gave me a bunch of Tiffany necklaces. Silver, snake chain and square tags with the Tiffany logos. And he said there are a hundred pieces so you have to solder. Oh. Really? How? I've never done [this] before. But practice is so important and he showed me how to solder. [He made it] look easy but for me it was not easy. He pushed me to do everything.
One necklace had two ends. I had to solder the end of the chain first and then solder the clasp. The other side [of the chain] had the same thing. One necklace had five parts to solder. Times a hundred. So I had to repeat five hundred times and [over time I am] getting much better.
The necklaces were products to sell to customers so I was nervous about it. [By giving me a product that would be for sale, I guess it made me careful and I had to concentrate under pressure.] So I didn't make a lot of mistakes but took a long time.
Once you finished them all then did you go back and redo the first couple that you did?
Yes. I got so much better at it.
...
It depends on the designer, but some designers fabricate everything directly from the metal. I prefer to work on wax to make a model. After casting into metal, I clean it up, make some textures, and solder if it is needed and polish. Those are all pieces from my original models. So I have a lot of molds and then shoot the wax in there.
[She shows me silicon-like molds.]
Okay, so that's your base mold then you work on the wax. And then you get the wax cast into metal.
Yes, because I don't want to make a lot of molds for every ring size. So I change the wax to the desired size and then cast it...people ask for special sizes. I can do like a 5.25, 4.75, 8.5...
This is for the collage collection [a specific design she makes, here]. It's just a [flat] sheet of wax with textures, this one. The process for the collage [begins with] playing with the stones [to create individual design]. So usually I work with the stones and then when I've decided [on a design] I carve the stone settings on the wax sheet.
So you're carving wax with a needle, basically?
Yeah. Like this one. And this one. And this one. [Masumi pulls out several small pointy tools to show me.]
A client contacted me yesterday. She wants [a collage necklace] with family birthstones in it. She wants to use five stones: sapphire, topaz, opal, turquoise, and ruby...she is going to have a new baby at the end of this month and she wants to include a birthstone of the newborn too, that's ALL her family members' birthstones. First step, I have to figure out what stones can be found for this tiny shape. In the picture it looks like bigger than the actual piece. So people are thinking, "So maybe this one should be turquoise." But it is so hard to find turquoise in 1mm. Should be larger in turquoise, maybe sapphire can be any size. In her mind, she wanted ruby and the sapphire larger. [laughter] I will probably have to cut a tiny, tiny shape of turquoise, maybe opal. I don't know, I have to figure out with my [gemstone] dealer. But it's fun, it's always special.
Turquoise is a softer stone, how would you get a tiny stone?
Yeah it's so difficult, at least a 2mm, I can find. Opal is also soft. Sapphire and ruby are hard [stones], easy to work with. Which I like, I design a lot with sapphires.
...
I usually don't set the stone by myself. My setter does BETTER than me.
I never thought about having other people help you out on the different parts of jewelry making.
Especially settings because setter does only the set. So their whole life is setting the stones. It's much better for me [to hire a stone setter]. I mostly like designing, gathering the inspiration and working on the wax. Designing is the best part for me. Setting the stones, I need more practice and experience. I can set a stone myself but takes longer. And then my setter does like whoosh... and then looks good. [laughter]
You live in New York too. So you actually have that opportunity to hire things out. I would imagine that in other places you don't have access to a stone setter, oh, just down the street.
Yes, I know some designers ship the jewelry to a stone setter who lives in other states because they can’t find them nearby. Some people I work with are getting old. My good setter already retired. He got COVID during the pandemic. And he was older. He was tired. And then he felt like, "Okay, that's enough. I should quit." He decided to leave the industry and then I have to find someone new. There are a lot of stone setters in NY but I think it takes time to find the right stone setter for your designs.
Like a whole day, every day, setting the stone is like... I can't imagine. They repeat the same thing, repeat hundreds of times, more than hundreds of thousands of times.
But all these little tiny specialty jobs that people do. I didn't know they existed.
...
Yeah, I can't believe it's already been 14 years since I started [Linn Designs]. I thought I couldn't do that by myself, but it's been good. My brand is still alive.
Has your work changed a lot in those 14 years?
Yes. First, when I started, I only worked on silver, not gold. Silver and brass, because I couldn't afford a lot of pricey materials. So I started making jewelry in silver and then did a lot of designer markets, street fairs and craft shows. I didn't do any trade shows for the first 3 years. I built my customer base by doing many markets, developed my collection and saved some money for trade shows. Now I mostly work with the buyers and store owners.
Has it made it easier?
Totally different. I love both, but when I started working with the buyers, my brand [got more] exposure. I lost the opportunity to meet and talk with retail customers, instead I received emails from the people who bought my jewelry from some of my retail partners. They wrote to me how much they loved my jewelry and appreciated my creativity. That kept me going and encouraged me to focus on what I love.
You're getting a lot of customers from your wholesale?
Most custom orders are from the customers who bought my jewelry at stores. So they know [my work and] quality so they don't worry about it. But for me, I don't meet them. So I feel like, "How did you know me? How did you find me?" One time, a guy emailed me and told me that his girlfriend loves my work. He wanted to make a special engagement ring for her. He was a busy chef, he's traveling a lot in the world. He said, "Show me the diamonds you have, I want the large, salt and pepper diamonds. Could you select some diamonds and then send me the picture?” He picked a 1.8 carat diamond. It was huge. I emailed him, "Are you really sure you can decide on the diamond by the photos? You don't want to see actual diamonds?" I was so nervous because I didn't know him and the price for the custom work was not inexpensive.
...[He finally explained that his girlfriend] already has a collection of my jewelry and he doesn't worry about design and quality. Soon after he picked the diamond, I got the deposit and started working on it.
