Private Commissions

Antique Cuff and Box

2004

Commissioned by San Yin Mei, Tokyo, Japan
Medium: Cuff: 19th-century metal beads, thread, silver SW clasp; Box: raw silk, archival board, fiber, metal snaps, thread
Dimensions: Cuff: approx. 6 3/8 x 1 1/2 x 1/4 in.; Box: Coming soon. :)
Photograph: Noah Kalina

Commission Overview
San Yin Mei was among the earliest supporters of our work in 2004, commissioning an antique cuff at a moment when we were experimenting with both historic materials and evolving presentation. Her piece is especially significant because it is one of the first to incorporate our custom silver SW clasp that we designed and had carved by by Chie Teratani, a professor at FIT. This marked an important shift from generic closures to a signature clasp system that embedded identity into function.

Artistic Approach
Like all of our antique cuffs, the piece was built bead by bead, not on a loom but by hand through peyote stitch, linking the tiny 19th-century metal beads into a flexible textile structure. William often embedded tubular peyote-stitched insets at the ends, giving enough heft to support the clasp while maintaining balance and durability. The design features a long, band-aid-shaped geometric motif in blue, red, and green, stretching concentrically across the length of the cuff.

The clasp itself deserves attention. The design bore our SW insignia, textured with the impression of lava rock. Each clasp was engineered with jump rings on the end, so the beadwork could be stitched directly into it, and a male-female mechanism that locked securely yet elegantly. When closed, it formed a figure-eight silhouette—part ornament, part signature.

The cuff was presented in a rare red raw silk box, whose base curved off the ground to create space for a hand to slip beneath and lift it. The lid fastened with two nickel snaps and flipped open with a crisp, tactile gesture.

Engagement and Impact
For San, the commission was a way to carry an intimate, wearable sculpture. For us, it marked a leap forward in professionalism—our first steps toward integrating bespoke hardware and more sophisticated box designs into the practice. The red box, unusual in both form and finish, spoke to our early curiosity with presentation: how a container could become a sculptural complement to the work it protected.

Context and Legacy
Placed first in the chronology of our 2004 antique cuffs, this piece signals a transition: from experimenting with antique beads to building a cohesive system of design that included signature clasps and architectural boxes. It highlights how collectors like San helped push us to refine, invest, and codify elements of our process. The cuff itself—hand-stitched, symbolically patterned, secured by our first logo clasp—remains a marker of both experimentation and identity.