Akiko Yonei
CEO / Producer / Designer
Akiko Yonei
Producer of MENTOSEN. Founded Shinko Studio Ltd. in 2002. organizer of Jewelry Artists Japan (JAJ), a community of jewelry creators.
Owner of "Shinko Studio", an original jewelry store in Tokyo, Japan.
GIA.G.G(Gemological Institute of America Graduate Gemologist®)
I also provide "field trips" for the community to enjoy and a place to interact with creators.
Through this small jewelry store in the town, I notice many things.
The lives of each and every person who comes to the store.
During the creation process, I have learned about each person's history, pains and joys.
In these ordinary people, I feel the strength to live and the beauty of the original human being.
Through Jewelry Artists Japan (JAJ), a community of jewelry creators that I started in 2012, I have been able to share my experiences with artists, goldsmiths, and craftspersons.
Through JAJ, a community of jewelry creators that I started in 2012, I have been able to connect with artists, metalworkers, craftsmen, 3D CAD creators, young people, and other passionate people who are passionate about making things.
Meeting these people has enabled me to take on new challenges and work with them in a lively exchange of ideas.
I feel that jewelry as a "symbol of wealth," focusing on material value, is a little out of sync with our current thoughts.
I feel that new ideas, people's imagination, and manufacturing have value.
I am excited by new technology and the ability to create new designs and things by going beyond the realm of work.
However, I believe that it is not enough to use technology alone, but the handwork of people that has been handed down from generation to generation that will create excitement and meaning for people to hold on to for a long time.
Making things is a way to connect with people
Launched the MENTOSEN collection, fotunetly I got a best member to be involved in the production.
The world was changed by Corona, and I started the new collection "MENTOSEN" in December 2021, confident that I would be able to create something new with them.
"Why do we need to make new things in jewelry?"
The answer is.
"It's boring unless you make something that can break through the old, fixed values of the world."
Through a small piece of jewelry, I hope to make the world a place where people who have been suffering from old values can live a little more lightly.
It seems like a lie to say such a thing in words, so I want to let things speak for themselves.