Wwake

04/24/25
Wing-Yau-founder-of-Wwake
Insecte mimétique de type phasme, imitant une feuille verte avec nervures visibles, photographié sur fond blanc. Deux petites boucles d’oreilles colorées sont fixées sur ses antennes.

"Opals remind me of childhood magic."

- Wing Yau

WWAKE has been part of the WHITEbIRD selection since nearly 10 years.

More than a jewellery brand, WWAKE is a chain of meaningful connections — between the Earth, skilled artisans, and those who wear its pieces. Founded in 2013, the New York-based house reinvents heirloom jewellery through a minimalist, conscious lens.

1. Who are you, Wing? 
I spent many of my childhood years living in South America – I was in Lima, but also the amazon, the desert, and the antarctic. The experience of being a teenager in a foreign country was incredibly formative. I had my coming of age in Peru, a country where I could barely speak the language, And where I didn’t understand the customs—it was very awkward!. As a result, I feel like I belong to no culture in particular, except for when I’m making things, which is when I feel at home with myself.

This experience made me very conscious of non-western perspectives, something that carries through my work at WWAKE, and how we source our sapphires.

2. What inspires you? Is there a particular theme or idea you're currently obsessed with?
I’m currently obsessed with vintage lace! I love the hand wrought detail, the fact that every knot is a marker of the time it took to create—I think of them as artifacts of a process. I like objects like lace, or weavings that clearly take a lot of time to create…I spend a lot of time thinking about the patient person making it, and what they must have thought about during all those hours. 

Generally, I have a deep interest in cultural history and anthropology. For example, why do we hold so much value to jewelry? Jewelry is powerful, it’s one of the earliest artifacts found made by mankind 

I’m interested in our historic relationship to jewelry and our materials, and why it still matters to us today. I think it’s fascinating that we hold continual value to jewelry and precious materials. There's a lot to learn here about our inherent desires and value systems.

wwake-jewellery-atelier
boucles d'oreilles opales wwake
australian-opals-wwake

3. Tell us about your journey — what led you from sculpture to jewellery? How was WWAKE born?
I entirely fell into jewelry! I was making large, wearable sculptures for a moment, and I was really interested in manipulating historic trade materials (cotton, bronze, silver, gold) into sculptural forms. Then, I  made bulbous, hand dyed  fiber sculptures that coiled around your neck. 

To  be honest, I was in a smaller city then, and there really was no audience for work like that, so I felt like I was making work for an echo chamber!! I quickly changed my medium and started working smaller, more traditional, precious materials — I was still interested in the inherent value society gives to these materials, meanwhile I was interested in bringing a new perspective to traditional jewelry -- WWAKE was one of the first brands to make delicate opal jewelry with open space and unexpected stacking compositions...everything really just snowballed from there. Now that trends have changed, I’ve started exploring larger scale forms again.

4. Where does your love of stones come from — and what sparked your special connection with opals?Opals remind me of childhood magic. When I was 9, i was gifted a boulder opal and I was mesmerized with the way it sparkled like a holograph. I’m still chasing that feeling.

5. Do you have any creative rituals or work habits? What does a typical day in the studio look like?
A typical day starts with a nice cup of tea and braiding my hair. I spend a lot of time in the studio doing lots of computer work these day-–so unromantic!--so my creative work typically happens at night, when I’m cooking or going on a walk. My best creative thoughts happen when I’m doing nothing!

bagues wwake or et saphirs
Collier Linear Chain Or Jaune et opales

6. We loved discovering your favourite Brooklyn spots in our New York city guide — why did you choose this neighbourhood to set up your studio?
When I first moved to the city, Manhattan was too expensive for me to live, so many of my artist friends came to Brooklyn, simply because that is where we could be. We were being resourceful at the time, knowing that our community is what brought color to our lives. 

7. WWAKE is known for its strong ethical and social commitments. Which projects or achievements in this area are you most proud of?
Growing our sapphire offering with our Sri Lankan and Nigerian mining communities over the past 7 years has been a huge effort. The supply and consistency coming from these areas has taken years to develop, and it has been a huge group commitment to integrate it into our main collection! I’m very proud of how our jewelry not only supports, but grows our business over the long term relationships with mining communities. 

8. WWAKE pieces are perfectly made to be worn in layers. What’s your favourite way to stack them? And which pieces are your personal favourites from all the collections you've created?
My favorite pieces are the Borealis pendants – each one is unique and shows the beauty of the stone, each hand picked by me. I love every one. I love stacking them with our pendants – It’s very exciting to me when our clients pick them to mix and match and use them to represent meaningful moments in their lives. 

My favorite necklace combo for WWAKE will always be the linear chain and the three-step necklace together, though!

9. Do you have any upcoming projects or collections you'd like to share with us?
I have some very exciting sculptural pendants coming in October, can’t wait to share :)

10. A quick-fire portrait: If you were…
A jewel: Marie Antoinette’s locket – with a hand written note and lock of her hair!
A gemstone: green star sapphire!
A flower: a pink magnolia
A dish: a home cooked fish!
A work of art: Lost In Transit (2019) by Rose Salane
A country: Brazil
An animal: A lazy dog!

wwake sri lankan jewellery workshop
Marie Antoinette’s locket with a hand written note and lock of her hair
Marie Antoinette's locket
WWAKE
at WHITEbIRD

7, boulevard des Filles du Calvaire Paris 3
+33 (0)1 40 24 27 17

boutiquemarais@whitebirdjewellery.com

62, rue des Saints-Pères Paris 7
+33 (0)1 43 22 21 53

boutiquesaintsperes@whitebirdjewellery.com

Boutiques
opening hours

Mon: 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Tue-Sat: 11:00 am - 7:00 pm

Insecte mimétique de type phasme, imitant une feuille verte avec nervures visibles, photographié sur fond blanc. Deux petites boucles d’oreilles colorées sont fixées sur ses antennes.
Bijou Viltier

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