All About North Works

The desire to collect can spring from many facets of a personality. Whether driven by passion, self-expression, nostalgia, or a reverence for history, collecting is an intimate act of preservation. The Japanese accessories brand, North Works, finds a way to tap into each of these motivations, fusing them into the fiber of every item they create. Through their work, North Works explores how materials carry meaning, how objects age with character, and how craftsmanship can tell stories across cultures.

ALL ABOUT NORTHWORKS

In a search to boil the idea of ‘America’ down to its essence through a modern Japanese lens, North Works utilizes rare coins, antique beads, hand-selected turquoise, and Native American and folk crafting techniques. The care that goes into each piece of jewelry balances passion, history, symbolism, and restraint. This allows each necklace, bracelet, and ring to take on a unique personality that develops with each wear, like a tactile meditation on history and identity. 

North Works was founded in 2011 by Toshi Ohta, who hails from the Kanagawa prefecture, where the US’s largest naval air base is located. In Kanagawa, Ohta was exposed to American culture from a young age. His affinity for quintessential American aesthetics allowed him to develop a brand that conceptually revolves around the idea of America, merging historically American craft with Japanese ideals.

Ohta’s creative journey began in leatherwork during a stay in the United States. When Ohta returned to Japan and mastered silversmithing, he created a small team of silversmiths and established their atelier. The chosen location was particularly symbolic: a former church in Fussa, where the Yokata US Airbase resides. There, Tokyo’s urban sprawl collides with nature’s serene beauty. This intersection of influences, including American military legacy, handmade artistry, and Japanese perfection, echoes North Works’ brand philosophy. 

The church atelier reflects the brand’s identity and provides the North Works team with great utility. The double-hung windows, previously used for soundproofing confessions and aircraft takeoffs, keep the rhythmic hammering and red-hot sizzle of silversmithing from bothering the neighbors. 

In the atelier, you’ll find jars of beads lining the walls in many vivid colors. The beads are deadstock, sourced from Murano, Italy, where their glassmaking was world-renowned. Ohta acquired the glass beads from a descendant of the bead factory’s original owner, a century after the handmade beads began falling out of practice. Unfortunately, Murano glass is a vanishing craft, and these beads are only becoming rarer with time.

These products are more than just beautiful– they carry the weight of history and grow more striking and rare with time. By blending symbolic meaning with precious historical coins, each piece becomes a one-of-a-kind treasure.  

One thing not typically referenced in American aesthetics is warmth. You have imperfections and the visibility of the hand that creates the jewelry, allowing for an honest handicraft that personalizes each necklace, bracelet, and ring. This is exemplified in their stamped bangles. A mix of highly precise Japanese chisels and vintage, more charming American chisels are used to add distinction between Japanese craft and the essence of nostalgic American designs. Each stamp and engraving is chiseled by hand without the use of measurement. The slight imperfections in depth and pattern arise as a symptom of being completely handcrafted, similar to hand-stitched garments and shoes. 

There is also the idea that every product takes on its own life, especially due to the unique nature of the vintage materials used to create them. Each bead is hand-blown glass, so no two beads will be identical. Due to the difference in each coin’s alloys, the life each piece takes on will be different. Higher copper alloys will age to a greater effect and show a patina with time, while the higher silver content coins will be softer and show physical wear from daily use. With regular wear, North Works jewelry will develop a unique look, just like raw denim fades over time. 

The uniqueness of North Works products also shines when you consider the turquoise through Japanese garden aesthetics. Each stone is chosen to fulfill different principles, including ‘fukinsei’ and ‘wabi-sabi’, or a natural and unrefined appearance. Because no two turquoises are the same, each rock will show its aging, wear, and cracks it developed as it was formed. These ideas are also seen in the antique coins North Works uses. As they’ve been handled independently for decades, each coin shows different amounts of wear, luster, and definition. 

The first coin in North Works’ lineup is the Morgan dollar, the most beautiful silver American coin. North Works twists the Morgan dollar into a ring featuring a hand-molded concho and turquoise stone.

With the largest US coin, North Works explores the practices of countercultural folkcraft, transforming US-minted fifty-cent coins into icons for peace. Using the fifty-cent coin as a base, North Works also creates the most robust ring of their current lineup. 

Dimes make for North Works’ most reasonably sized pendants. With symbolic inlays ranging from brass and enamel smiley faces (now synonymous with the brand) to peace signs and bear inlays signifying the countercultural and Indigenous aspects of America’s history. 

Buffalo Nickels are the most sought-after of the American mint, despite a lack of silver. The iconographic coins have been used in North Works’ enamel flower necklaces, highlighting patina with the resilient enamel. Pennies and copper inlays are also seen in North Works’ offerings. Despite their face value, the greatest opportunity for patina presents itself. 

North Works aims to prove that beauty can endure. Each product will patina uniquely to the wearer, and whether the marks and wear come from the wearer, the maker, or from decades or centuries before, the beauty of every part of their jewelry will last. North Works’ craftsmanship and dedication to creating the perfect amalgamation of American and Japanese aesthetics guarantee this.
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