When a Simple Berry Tells the Story...

The first glimpse of the Leaf & Berry Twig Ring. A little red berry inspired what would become the beginning of the Berry Collection.

Front view showing the intertwined branches rising to offer the center stone, a guiding principle behind my nature-inspired jewelry designs.

Side profile highlighting the bark texture, leaf detail, and substantial branch structure that form the foundation of the design.

🌿🍒

Every design has a beginning.

Sometimes it starts with a gemstone.
Sometimes it starts with a sketch.
And sometimes it starts with something so small that most people would overlook it.

For me, it started with a simple little red dot.

That tiny berry became the spark that inspired what is now growing into the Leaf & Berry Collection.

The ring shown here represents the earliest stage of that journey. At this point, the design is only about 30% complete. Like the vines and branches that inspire my work, it will continue to grow, change, and evolve as new ideas emerge and future versions are created.

The foundation begins with intertwined twig structures that naturally weave around the finger. Small leaves emerge from the branches while tiny berries appear throughout the design, creating the feeling of a living woodland vine rather than a traditional jewelry setting.

At the center, the branches rise upward and gently offer the stone. This reflects one of the guiding principles behind my work: gemstones should feel lifted and presented by nature, not simply held in place. The stone becomes a gift offered by the branches that grew around it.

The berries may be one of the smallest details in the design, yet they carry the greatest meaning. They serve as a reminder that inspiration can come from the simplest things. A single berry became the seed from which an entire collection began to grow.

This blog will follow the development of the Leaf & Berry Twig Ring as the design progresses from wax model to finished jewelry. Future updates will document design refinements, castings, gemstone variations, finished pieces, and new additions to the Berry Collection.

Today, it begins with a single berry.

Tomorrow, we'll see where it grows.

— Dawn Vertrees

Updated Wax Model & 14k Rose Gold Visualization

"Every design goes through a period of growth. After studying the original wax model, I refined the branch tips so they embrace the diamond more naturally, strengthening the feeling that the stone is being lifted and offered by the surrounding twigs. The updated wax model allowed me to fine-tune these small details before casting."

"Seeing the design visualized in 14k rose gold revealed details that are difficult to see in colored wax. The soft oxidation settles into the bark texture while the polished berries catch the light, creating contrast and bringing the organic elements to life. Comparing the wax model to the rose gold version helps me evaluate the flow, balance, and overall emotion of the piece."

"Sometimes a simple berry tells the story. What begins as a small accent becomes part of a larger journey, guiding the eye through the design and connecting every branch, leaf, and detail to the center stone. Each refinement brings the ring closer to my vision of nature gently presenting a precious gift."

From Story to Wax

Every custom piece begins with a conversation.

My client described her vision as delicate tree branches entwined together, with the season's first snowflakes settling on sparse leaves. Because her engagement ring needed to remain delicate to fit her size 4.5 finger, we chose to carry more of the story into the matching ring holder pendant.

The pendant became a place where nature, memory, and function could come together. Twisting branches form the structure, leaves represent life and growth, and a snowflake rests within the design. Surrounding it are tiny white gold spheres, capturing the feeling of snow flurries drifting through the winter air.

These photos show the journey from the original sketch to the developing wax model, where a client's vision slowly becomes a wearable piece of art.

Every piece begins with a story.

💘

Original concept sketch showing the client's vision for a nature-inspired ring holder pendant featuring entwined branches, leaves, and a snowflake motif.

Determining the size and proportions of the ring holder pendant before carving begins.

Keeping the soft wax aligned while building the framework of the ring holder pendant.

The ring holder pendant begins to take shape as the branches, leaves, and snowflake elements are refined in wax.

A digital visualization created from the wax model to help the client imagine the finished pendant.

❅

While wax models allow me to create and refine every detail of a design, they can sometimes be difficult for clients to visualize as finished jewelry.

Using AI-assisted imaging, I can create a digital representation of how a wax model may appear when cast and polished in precious metal. This helps bridge the gap between the wax stage and the finished piece, allowing clients to better understand the design before casting begins.

The design itself remains my original work. AI is simply being used as a visualization tool to help bring the concept to life.

New Forest Collection: The Matching Wedding Band Story

 

When It becomes Something More...

Sometimes a custom design reaches a point where everything suddenly makes sense.

This wedding band began as a challenge: create a ring that matched a previously commissioned engagement ring featuring a Blue Sapphire in 14k Rose Gold with a medium oxidation finish — but without simply copying the original design.

The engagement ring carried a very organic, woodland flow with curved branch structures wrapping and lifting the sapphire almost like it was being offered upward. The side profile had movement, growth, and softness to it. 

But this ring needed a different presence.

Instead of designing the wedding band completely from scratch, I decided to work almost genetically.

New Forest emerald engagement ring set in flowing organic branches
with matching nested wedding band in warm rose gold.

Because I made the molds from both of my original rings, I began borrowing structural elements directly from the engagement ring and wedding band. I used the side architecture from the engagement ring as the foundation for this band, then combined and blended two wedding bands together to create a broader, stronger flow.

New Forest matching wedding band in rose gold featuring intertwined
flowing branch textures inspired by natural woodland forms.

The result became less about creating “matching rings” and more about creating two rings that clearly belong to the same story.

One of the most important parts of the process was preserving the organic language of the original design while shifting the overall movement into a more masculine direction. Instead of delicate upward movement, the branches became more grounded and structured. The lines were straightened slightly, spacing adjusted, and the overall posture of the ring changed without losing the feeling of natural growth.

Since this ring would not contain a stone, additional twig structures were added to blend the transitions together and create continuity across the surface of the band itself.

The medium oxidation in the 14k Rose Gold will help unify everything in the final cast by darkening the recesses and emphasizing the bark-like texture and depth between the branches.

These are the moments I love most as a designer.

The quiet early-morning hours where the pieces stop feeling separate and suddenly become one complete idea.

Not duplicated. Not copied. But connected.

That is always the goal.

To create jewelry that feels like it grew naturally into existence.

— New Forest

Where Vines Hold Light — Forest Design Collection

It started with a feeling I couldn’t ignore.

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A deep blue sapphire lifted by flowing vine-like gold
—where nature’s movement meets quiet strength.

The first image captures that moment when everything begins to settle into place—soft movement, natural curves, and a stone that feels alive within the design. The rose gold carries warmth, while the sapphire draws you inward, like something discovered rather than set.

A closer look at the flow
—each vine wraps with intention,
lifting the sapphire as if grown into place.

As you move to the next, the perspective shifts. The structure reveals itself more clearly—the way each vine wraps, not to confine, but to support. There’s intention in every line, yet nothing feels forced. It grows the way nature does—quietly, organically.

The same form, reimagined in light
—where a diamond is lifted and offered within flowing gold.

Then the story changes slightly.

A diamond takes the place of color, and suddenly the design speaks in light instead of depth. The form remains the same, but the emotion shifts—cleaner, brighter, yet still grounded in that same flowing structure.

In white gold, the movement sharpens
—cool tones revealing every ridge, every shadow,
every line that carries the stone forward.

In white gold, the piece becomes something else again. Cooler, more refined, the textures stand out differently. The contrast between light and shadow deepens, and the organic lines feel almost sculptural.

The full expression—two rings grown from the same form,
flowing together as one continuous movement, lifting the stone in quiet harmony.

And finally, the full composition.

The wedding set brings everything together. The curves extend, the movement continues, and the design feels complete—not as a single piece, but as something that belongs together. Each ring flows into the next, like branches from the same root.

This collection was never about holding a stone in place.

It was about lifting it.

💙

Letting it exist within something that feels grown, not made—so that when it’s worn, it carries more than beauty.

It carries feeling.

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The Beginning of the Oakwood Twig Collection

Oakwood Twig Collection — where growth becomes form.

Oakwood Twig Collection

Inspired by Growth. Made with Meaning.

There are moments in the creative process where everything begins to align—where an idea stops being a thought and starts becoming something real.

This is one of those moments.

The oak leaf—strength,
structure, and naturally guided form.

At the center of this collection is the first ring.

This is where it begins.

I will be starting this piece in wax, shaping it by hand—allowing the form to develop the same way branches do: not forced, but guided. The stone is not simply set; it is lifted and offered, held by the structure like a gift formed by the earth itself.

This is the foundation piece. Everything else grows from here.

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The acorn—small, grounded, and full of potential.
Where growth begins.

Nature doesn’t rush, and it doesn’t repeat itself perfectly—and that’s the point.

The oak leaf carries strength and identity. The acorn represents beginnings—small, grounded, and full of potential. Together, they tell a story of growth, endurance, and quiet power.

That story is what this collection is built on.

🤎

The first ring now begins in wax—
where each curve will be shaped by hand,
guided by the same natural movement that inspired it.

 

Oakwood Twig Collection Sketch Designs

Oakwood Twig Collection Sketch Designs

The Oakwood Twig Collection

The Oakwood Twig Collection begins here—where nature wraps, lifts, and offers each piece like a gift.

You don’t design in straight lines—and this collection doesn’t either.

It grew the same way branches do—naturally, without force, each curve finding its place. Every twig wraps with intention, every leaf settles where it belongs, and every detail is built to feel like it was always meant to be there.

These pieces aren’t just inspired by nature…
They’re guided by it.

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Where It Began

The rings are where this collection first took root.

Twigs wrap around the band like growing branches, forming structure without feeling rigid. Oak leaves layer gently into the design, creating a sense of protection and movement at the same time.

Crafted in sterling silver with 14K rose gold leaves, finished with soft oxidation in the recesses and a gentle polish, these pieces balance contrast and warmth in a way that feels natural and effortless.

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The Collection Grows

From there, the collection began to expand.

A sterling silver pendant lifts and presents a moss agate stone, wrapped in flowing twig forms and accented with oak leaves—never held tightly, always offered.

The earrings carry that same movement—light, organic, and alive—formed from oxidized sterling silver branches with oak leaves and acorns that feel as if they’ve grown into place.

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A Natural Pairing

The collection also moves into more personal pieces.

A solitaire engagement ring with a 1ct round diamond pairs with a coordinating oak leaf band, bringing structure and symbolism together. The design allows the stone to feel lifted and presented, while the band continues the language of natural growth.

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Still Growing

This collection is not finished—and it’s not meant to be.

Some pieces will remain simple and quiet. Others will grow more detailed and layered. But every design will follow the same path—guided by nature, shaped with intention, and created to be felt as much as seen.

These pieces already exist—just not in metal yet.
They’ve taken shape here first.

And I can’t wait to show you what they become.

The Oakwood Twig Collection

 

“This is where Oakwood began.”

It started simply.

The groom knew she wanted one of my one-of-a-kind twig designs—something that felt grown, not made.

She also knew she wanted a green rough diamond, untouched and natural, something with depth and life in it.

Together, we created her engagement ring around that vision.

Then the focus shifted to him.

She knew what mattered to him—

the Oak tree, with a couple of acorns. Strength, grounding, something lasting.

He wanted an 8mm wide band at the base, solid and substantial.

A size 13 finger—this ring needed presence. Weight. Something that felt like it belonged.

At the same time, I happened to be working on a new twig heart ring.

That piece became the starting point.

The structure was already there—

the movement, the flow, the way the branches naturally came together.

From that, I sculpted the Oak leaf and added the two acorns.

It wasn’t drawn out.

It wasn’t overthought.

It developed the way these pieces always do—

one form growing into the next until it becomes exactly what it’s supposed to be.

She loved his ring.

And when it came time for him to create hers,

he didn’t go in a different direction—he stayed with it.

Her ring became a reflection of his.

Similar in structure. Connected in meaning.

That’s when it stopped being two separate pieces

and became something shared.

(Cute, right?)”

It wasn’t until I received a second request

that I realized this wasn’t just a set anymore.

“That’s when it stopped being two separate pieces

and became something shared.

It was the beginning of something larger.

It was where Oakwood began.

🙑

Where the Stone Settles

“Not every stone is placed… some find where they belong—held gently in the quiet curve of growth.”

Design Study – The Stone, Held in Place

There are moments where a design doesn’t change—it settles.

This is one of those.

The structure remains the same throughout.
Only the stone shifts, and with it, the feeling.

The beginning holds no refinement.

The stone is left untouched—raw, irregular, carrying its own surface and character.
The branches rise and move around it, not to shape it, but to follow it.

Nothing is forced here.
It feels like something found and kept.

The form becomes clearer.
The branches rise with intention, defining how the stone will be held.

The form becomes clearer.

The branches are defined, the movement more intentional.
The stone begins to sit within a more understood space.

This is where the design reveals its direction—
a structure that can either be cast in place, or allow the stone to be set after.

The idea stays the same.
Only the method begins to separate.

The same structure now holds a faceted stone.
Light begins to move through the design, shifting the feeling from raw to defined.

The same structure now holds a faceted stone.

Light enters the design differently.
The surface reflects instead of absorbing.

The branches still rise and hold, but the feeling shifts—
less raw, more defined.

This version allows the stone to become part of the piece from the beginning.

🍃

Nothing changes in the structure.

Only the tone deepens.

The green sapphire carries weight.
It holds color instead of just light.

The branches respond the same way—rising, approaching, settling into place.

It returns to something quieter, even in a refined form.

Coming soon: one-of-a-kind rings where each stone settles into place, held by nature-inspired forms.

Three Mushrooms, One Journey

 

Three Mushrooms, One Journey

  

Beneath the surface, where life quietly forms, three mushrooms rise.

The Explorer. The Watcher. The Newcomer.

Each one carries a different moment in the same journey.

Where the Story Begins

A single branch rises, holding three lives at different stages.

This ring wasn’t designed—it grew.
The branches formed first, and the mushrooms followed, each finding its place naturally within the structure.

Three Paths, One Form

Three forms, each moving in its own direction.

If you look closely, no two mushrooms move the same way.

One reaches outward, one remains still, and one is just beginning to emerge.

The Explorer

The Explorer leans away from the others—drawn outward.

It represents the part of us that moves forward without certainty…

simply because something inside says go.

The Watcher

The Watcher stands steady at the center.

Not everything needs to move to grow.
Some things deepen by simply being present.

The Newcomer

Held by the forest

The branches wrap and support each form, not forcing direction—only holding space.

Every line, every texture was left intentionally, so when oxidation settles in, the depth reveals itself—just like bark on a tree.

This piece isn’t just worn… it’s felt.