emiko o reware

San Francisco artist EMIKO OYE creates bold and colorful jewelry with repurposed LEGO® - from ready-to-wear, to one-of-a-kind conceptual work inspired by haute couture, art history, David Bowie, and Nonviolent Communication and community. She began her jewelry business, emiko-o, in 1997, dealing in retail, wholesale and private commissions. Collaborations with LEGO® System in Denmark have led to their endorsement of her as an “Influencer” for young female makers.

Utilizing LEGO®, recycled and semi-precious materials, her jewelry universally tugs on the nostalgic heartstrings, and artfully interweaves memories into conversation-sparking adornment. In working with recycled media, emiko discovered similarities in both LEGO® and jewelry: hands-on-story-telling capabilities, increased value with vintage, dedicated collectors, generational status as family heirloom.

A BFA University Scholar from Syracuse University, her work has been shown in over 100 exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally; including solo shows at the San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design and Ombré Gallery, and in the permanent collections the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Lois Boardman Collection, Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and Racine Art Museum. She is often invited to speak on the business of craft and her own work for arts institutions and organizations, such as the Dowse Museum of Art (New Zealand), Bard Graduate Center (NY), Society of North American Goldsmiths, New York City Jewelry Week, Miami Art Museum and Miami University (OH), The Exploratorium (CA), California College of the Arts, and Oakland Museum of California.

Publications that have featured her work: 21st Century Jewelry, On Jewellery, Humor in Craft, and the Associated Press, Marie Claire, American Craft, Modern Magazine, Metalsmith, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Cleveland Plain Dealer, San Francisco Chronicle. 

Other feathers in her cap: Past President and on the Board of Directors for the Metal Arts Guild San Francisco; Featured Artist of Lake Oswego’s Festival of the Arts 2022; Founder of Accessorize with Toys outreach workshops; 2015 Artist for the Art Jewelry Forum's Community Pin.

Listen to her interviews on Wellness for Makers with host Missy Graff Balone (April 20, 2021) and The Jewelry Journey Podcast with host Sharon Berman, Episode 104 (2021).

When she's not creating in the jewelry studio, she’s maintaining sanity and balance through Restorative Yoga, the MELT Method®, and Facial Gua Sha, as personal practices and as a certified teacher, holding space for others to release stress and find grounding. Check out her wellness website at emikooyoga.com

Catch a glimpse of how emiko sees the world and what inspires her latest designs on Instagram.

Downloadable CV here.