Behind the Scenes-The Le Conte Story

What Is Impasto?

Impasto is a painting technique in which paint is applied thickly enough for the marks of the brush or palette knife to remain visible. Its raised surface catches light, preserves movement, and makes the artist’s hand part of the work.

Before Le Conte became my full-time practice, I had already spent years immersed in more than 25,000 CAD files, contributing to the creations of many designers. Those years strengthened my technical skills, but they also made one thing clear: I did not want to build Le Conte from a visual language that belonged to someone else. I was searching for a language that felt unmistakably my own.

I chose to archive the work I had created for others and began to imagine Le Conte as a gallery- a curated space where my own voice could finally emerge. Impasto became the first chapter of that reimagining: a record of time, layers, and movement, translated into metal.

During the pandemic, while I was still working full-time as a CAD designer, I spent long days and nights learning new digital sculpting tools. My goal was simple to describe and difficult to achieve: to make gold hold the movement of a brushstroke.

Right Image : An archive of more than 25,000 design files accumulated over years of CAD work.

Moments,
Preserved in Texture 

I have always been fascinated by texture. From the beginning, I was drawn more to the raw surface of metal than to a perfectly polished finish. Even in my BFA work, I was already exploring texture and framing as essential parts of a piece rather than something separate from it.

That interest continued in my MFA thesis exhibition, Rematerialize. Rather than presenting the jewelry on conventional pedestals, I created thick, textured canvases that became part of the display itself. I was the first student in my MFA program to use canvas as a presentation surface for jewelry, treating it not simply as a backdrop, but as an extension of the work. 

Looking back, the roots of Le Conte’s impasto language were already there, long before I had a name for it.

Years later, standing before a painting, I found myself wondering: Could jewelry preserve the feeling of a matte, golden brushstroke?

Beginning in 2019, that question became a year-long pursuit. When the COVID-19 shutdown began, I used that pause to study new software, test surface after surface, and slowly learn how to translate the ridges, drag, and rhythm of paint into a form that could be cast in gold. I still remember the first time a brushstroke on my screen finally felt alive.

The technical experience I gained while working alongside HIDDENSPACE helped me bring that texture into Le Conte’s own design language. The first piece to emerge from that exploration was Potter’s Pink.

^{Left image: Rematerialize, MFA thesis exhibition.}

Where Brushstrokes Become Gold

Potter’s Pink brought together everything I had been searching for: a low profile, a rose-cut center stone, and a sculptural brushstroke halo shaped around carefully balanced negative space.

Even now, it remains one of my most beloved designs, and many later Le Conte pieces grew from its foundation..

My heart still races when I stand before a painting in a museum. Brushstrokes laid down decades- or even centuries- ago remain visible, carrying the speed, pressure, and presence of the artist’s hand.

That immediacy always moves me. In impasto, the surface itself becomes a record of motion. The ridges of paint feel alive, as though the artist has only just stepped away. Sometimes, standing before a Monet, I feel as though I am quietly meeting the artist through the marks he left behind..

I hope Le Conte’s rings can hold something similar- not simply texture or form, but moments preserved in gold: my own, and those entrusted to each piece by the people who wear it..