When Driftwood Becomes Jewelry 🌿❤️

The finished Driftwood Pendant — sculpted in wax, transformed into 14k Rose Gold, and finished with deep oxidation to reveal the organic texture and movement of the design.

When Driftwood Becomes Jewelry

There are times when I sit down with a piece of wax and I don't really know what I'm going to make.

I just start looking.

I look at the shape. I turn it over in my hands. I follow a line with my eyes and wonder where it wants to go. Sometimes the piece tells me what it wants to become long before I have a name for it.

That is how this pendant began.

I wanted to capture something I have always loved about driftwood—the way nature can take something as ordinary as a piece of wood and transform it into something extraordinary.

Driftwood isn't perfect.

It is weathered. It has been shaped by water, wind, time and movement. Its surface carries the evidence of everything it has been through.

That is what I wanted this pendant to feel like.

Not a picture of a piece of wood.

But the spirit of driftwood.

Before it became gold, it was simply a piece of blue wax in my hand — sculpted line by line until the form finally felt right.

♥

It Started in Wax...

Working in soft wax gives me the freedom to sculpt the way I see.

I don't begin with a perfectly symmetrical drawing and then try to make the jewelry match it. I follow the movement of the material.

One line becomes another. A branch curves. A space opens. A little bit of wax disappears and suddenly the whole piece breathes differently.

I love those openings.

They are just as important as the metal that remains.

The negative space allows light to travel through the pendant and creates the deep shadows that make the piece feel almost alive.

And, as often happens with my work, I changed it.

The first version wasn't quite where I wanted it to be. I went back into the wax and revised the form, allowing the lines to become more fluid and the lower portion of the pendant to have more movement.

Sometimes the smallest change is what finally makes a piece feel right.

From Wax to Metal

Once the wax is finished, the piece begins another life.

This version is envisioned in 14k Rose Gold, with oxidation worked into the deeper recesses.

That contrast is important to me.

I don't want every surface of my jewelry to shout, Look at me, I'm gold.

I want the light to find the raised areas while the darker oxidized recesses settle into the background.

Just like the cracks and shadows in a piece of weathered wood.

The result is warm, dimensional and organic.

It still looks like something that might have been found along the edge of a river or tucked beneath an old tree.

Only now, it has become jewelry.

The Beauty Is in the Imperfection

I think that is what keeps drawing me back to nature.

Nothing is perfectly symmetrical.

Nothing repeats itself exactly.

A branch doesn't stop and ask whether its next curve makes sense. It simply grows.

That is what I try to capture when I sculpt.

I want the finished piece to feel as though it grew rather than was constructed.

This Driftwood Pendant is one of those pieces where the metal almost disappears as metal.

You see the movement first.

You see the texture.

You see the spaces.

And then you realize that what you're looking at is gold.

A Little Piece of the Forest

I have spent much of my jewelry-making life looking at leaves, twigs, roots, vines, bark and the little details most people walk right past.

I don't see just a piece of wood.

I see a line.

A curve.

A place where light falls.

A shape that might become something completely different in my hands.

That is the magic of creating jewelry this way.

I don't have to reproduce nature.

I get to interpret it.

And sometimes, a little piece of driftwood becomes a pendant.

❤️

Designed and sculpted by Dawn Vertrees.

The Back Matters: Because Art Flips

THE FRONT

Cleaned up and carrying the texture, flow, and movement of the design.

THE BACK

Before cleanup — waiting for the same attention it takes to make the front beautiful.

The Back Matters: Because Art Flips

A picture says a thousand words.
Sometimes, though, a picture makes you stop and ask a question.
As I was working on this new wax pendant, I had already spent a great deal of time sculpting the front. The flowing lines, texture, movement, and organic shape were beginning to feel right.
Then I turned it over.
Holy moly, that's ugly. 😂
Not because the pendant was wrong. The back simply hadn't received the attention the front had yet.
And that's when I started thinking about something I've understood for a very long time:
Art flips.
For more than 20 years, I've finished the backs of my pendants.
Why?
Because jewelry moves.
It twists.
It turns.
It shifts when you wear it.
At some point, the back is going to become the front.
And when that happens, I don't want someone wearing one of my pieces to see a flat piece of metal with a logo simply because that's traditionally what we do.
I want them to see art.

The Front...

The front of this pendant has already been cleaned up and refined.
The texture flows through the piece, creating movement rather than a perfectly predictable pattern. The raised areas catch the light, while the deeper grooves create shadow and dimension.
It's meant to feel organic.
It's meant to look as though the material itself created the movement.
This is the part most people will see first.
But it isn't the only part I care about.

The Back...

This photograph shows the back before I gave it the attention it needed.
It's rough.
It's unfinished.
And compared to the front, well...

Holy moly. 😂

But underneath that unfinished surface is the beginning of another piece of art.
The back doesn't need to be an exact copy of the front.
In fact, I don't want it to be.
It needs to have its own art.
It needs its own texture, movement, and character while still feeling like it belongs to the same piece.
Because if the pendant flips around, I don't want the story to stop.
I want it to tell another story.

Nature Doesn't Have a "Front" and "Back"

That's one of the things I love about working from nature.
A piece of driftwood doesn't have a side that nature decided was the beautiful side.
Every surface has something to say.
There are ridges, cracks, grain, weathering, and places where the wood has changed over time.
The texture continues around the piece because nature doesn't stop creating simply because we've turned something over.
That's what I try to translate into my jewelry.
I'm not trying to make the front beautiful and simply make the back functional.
I'm trying to make the entire piece feel alive.

A New Woodland Treasure is Taking Root 🌿

Woodland Weave Collection – Inspired by the Forest | Dawn Vertrees Jewelry

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From Wax to Woodland Beauty: A New Ring is Taking Shape

Every creation begins with a visual in my mind. Once I can see it, I begin laying out the pieces. One by one, the vision becomes reality.

What you're seeing here is the beginning of my newest nature-inspired design.

These three wax views represent the foundation of the ring before it is transformed into precious metal. At this stage, every branch, every curve, and every bit of texture is carved by hand. This is where the personality of the piece is created.

Soon, this design will be cast in sterling silver, where those tiny details will come to life. An optional oxidized finish will gently darken the recessed areas, highlighting the bark-like texture and giving the branches added depth and character while allowing the raised surfaces to shine.

At the center of the design will be a 10 × 8 mm oval Moss Agate cabochon—a gemstone that reminds me of a quiet forest floor, with natural patterns that look like tiny landscapes captured within the stone. No two Moss Agates are ever exactly alike, making each ring truly one of a kind.

Creating depth, just as nature intended.
Every branch was hand sculpted in wax before becoming a sterling silver ring inspired by the forest.

Every cut creates another layer of depth. The hand-carving process gives each branch the natural character that will later be revealed in sterling silver with an optional oxidized finish.

From above, the flowing branches gently embrace the moss agate, allowing the natural beauty of the stone to remain the centerpiece of the design.

🌳

I love sharing this part of the process because it allows you to watch a piece evolve from an idea into wearable art. Before the silver is poured, before the stone is set, and before the final polish, there is simply a vision... and a piece of wax waiting to become something beautiful.

The next time you see this ring, it will have completed its transformation into sterling silver, ready to cradle its Moss Agate centerpiece.

I can't wait to share the finished piece with you.

Unveiling the "Banyan Collection": Roots of Inspiration for Spring

The final Banyan Collection design, featuring the intricate, woven root shank in antique rose gold, set with a stunning light blue aquamarine. Launching Spring 2026.

 Unveiling the "Banyan Collection": Roots of Inspiration for Spring

Today, we're thrilled to introduce a design that truly embodies the heart of our craft: the Banyan Collection, set for our Spring Release. This collection is a deeply personal exploration of nature's enduring strength and intricate beauty, born from an imagination that finds wonder in the world around us.

The Banyan is a big tree, known for its aerial roots that grow down from the branches to form new trunks.

The inspiration for this design is the majestic Banyan tree, which first sparked our original design journey. When living in Florida, the sight of the Banyan's powerful, flowing aerial roots back in 2003 inspired the very first concept for our signature leaf motif.

This new collection returns to that original source. Its aerial roots, gracefully descending and intertwining, create a dance of growth and resilience. This natural artistry sparked a vision—a ring that would mirror this organic complexity, a wearable sculpture that tells a story of connection and strength, moving beyond the traditional leaf to the foundational root structure itself.

My First Sketch

It began with a quick simple sketch, a moment where the intricate network of Banyan roots took form on paper.

The Vision Realized

After refining the initial concept with the help of advanced visualization tools, we are proud to introduce the final piece. The design features a densely woven network of Banyan-inspired roots, emphasizing texture and organic flow, beautifully capturing the original vision:

Details of the Banyan Ring

Metal: 14k Rose Gold with an Antique Finish

Center Stone: Oval, faceted Light Blue Aquamarine

Design: Intricately carved, interwoven root structure inspired by the Banyan tree's complex support system.

Release: Available this Spring.

We invite you to celebrate the natural elegance and powerful story behind the Banyan Collection. Stay tuned for the official launch date!

 

The Floating Gemstone Collection: Crafting Nature-Inspired Jewelry With Heart

In the world of jewelry design, every new piece begins long before metal meets flame. It starts with an idea—a spark that grows, branches, and evolves into something tangible. Over the past few months, my creative journey has been shaped by a design that has quickly become one of my most requested and personally meaningful pieces: my floating gemstone branch ring.

This blog is a behind-the-scenes look at how these pieces are created, why they resonate with so many people, and how I use modern tools like AI ethically and transparently to help me refine ideas that originate from my own designs.

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Where the Design First Took Root

The foundation of this ring comes from one of my original pieces—an organic, branch-like design that wraps naturally around a gemstone. This style developed from my fascination with nature: twisting roots, growing limbs, and the way light gets caught between them. The first iteration was raw, wild, and textural, almost as if the ring had grown on its own.

Soon after sharing it, people were drawn to its shape and story. Customers began asking for variations—different stones, sizes, and moods—while still keeping the essence of that original, organic design.

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How AI Fits Into My Creative Process

I want to address this directly, because transparency matters: the designs you see here are mine—conceptually, structurally, creatively, and physically. Every ring I make begins with my own sketches, my own original finished pieces, and my own design language.

I sometimes use AI as a sketching assistant, not as a designer. By feeding the AI images of my own work, I can explore alternate angles, stone proportions, or textural variations. AI helps generate rough visual prompts so I can better imagine how a stone of a different size or shape might look in my existing design.

Another important way I use AI is to help customers visualize options. Once I complete the wax carving and later the finished cast, I upload a photo of the real piece into my AI preview tool. From that single real ring, I can show clients how the design would look in silver, white gold, yellow gold, or rose gold—without recasting it. I can also swap gemstones, such as previewing the ring with a white moissanite or a vivid green peridot.

This feature has become one of my customers’ favorites because it lets them confidently choose both metal and stone based on an accurate visual reference of their exact ring design. It saves time, reduces guesswork, and empowers them to personalize their piece.

But the hands that carve the wax, sculpt the branches, and set the gemstone—those are mine.

AI is a tool. The artistry is the craft.

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The Wax Carving: Where the New Piece Begins

With customer requests building around a white moissanite version of this design, I moved from concept to creation. Using jewelers’ wax, I began carving the branches—letting them rise, curve, and divide in a way that feels natural and alive.

The wax is where the gemstone first begins to "float." I carve negative spaces intentionally—allowing light to pass through, ensuring the stone is supported but not enclosed, creating the illusion that it hovers between branches.

This is the heart of my floating gemstone style. It’s not about making the stone sit higher—it’s about making it appear naturally suspended, like a drop of light balanced within the structure of the ring.

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From Wax to Metal: The Final Transformation

This design will soon be cast in Sterling Silver and set with a 1.5ct (6×8mm) white moissanite, a gemstone whose brilliance enhances the floating effect beautifully. The process takes about 3 to 4 weeks from carving to completion.

Once cast, the branches will gain strength and detail, the prongs will be refined, and the stone will be secured in its airy, living setting. The finished piece will retain the same organic motion as the wax—just crystallized into its final, lasting form.

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Why This Design Matters to Me

This branch ring is more than a commission or a popular request—it’s a milestone in my journey as an artist. It blends:

• my original design language
• my love for nature
• my carving work
• modern tools used ethically
• my customers’ trust

And most importantly, it represents the moment where an idea becomes a form—a place where a new piece begins.

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Thank You For Being Part of the Journey

To everyone who has asked for this design, who has followed its variations, or who has simply appreciated its style—thank you. Your support allows me to keep pushing my craft in new directions while staying rooted in the work I love.

More updates will come soon, including the finished cast and final stone setting. I can’t wait to share the completed piece with you.

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If you’d like to follow more of my creative process or commission your own variation of this design, feel free to reach out. Every ring has a story, and I’m honored to help create yours.

Custom-Made Men's Ring - Twig Design by Dawn Vertrees Designs

This custom-made men's ring features a square-cut labradorite gemstone with a striking blue-green iridescence, set in a textured silver band. The band is intricately designed to resemble twisted twigs, with organic, branch-like patterns wrapping around the finger, giving it a rugged, nature-inspired look. The craftsmanship highlights the stone's natural beauty and the metallic finish adds a bold, masculine touch.

5 STARS 

Customer service with this company was amazing as we had ordered a custom ring. Every step of the way , Dawn and her team went above and beyond to make the ring of my dreams for my engagement. Thank you again Dawn. You and your team work wonders!

        

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