About TOPPI

Translated from Japanese, TOPPI can mean ‘wild, fantastic, outrageous, reckless, eccentric’ which expresses my free spirit. TOPPI(突飛)NYC is my series of necklaces designed to defy convention.

I find myself in constant search of beads that require for me to appreciate their unique characteristics. They could be termed ‘hard-to-use’ beads because of their particular shapes or patterns and surfaces with distinct markings that challenge my sensibilities. I choose such beads and then combine them with other unusual elements that further push the expression to become TOPPI.

As a long-time Japanese interpreter and translator, I perceive of my necklaces as a visual language with its own grammar and vocabulary. Asymmetry provides the basic grammar that guides me in my placement of the various beads on the strand. The shapes and sizes of the beads are the parts of speech. Having worked in different industries ranging from automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and foods, I am fascinated with different materials - where they came from, when they were created. The varieties of beads I use are the vocabulary in my expression. The visual references of the beads give name to my series.

TOPPI (突飛) NYC - sumi nakazato