Katey Brunini’s New Book Explores a Decade of Design

Solana Beach, Calif.—Katey Brunini, an artist and the designer behind K. Brunini Jewels, released a new coffee table book and jewelry collection last month.

Both share the name “Bow,” referencing bowing down as a sign of respect.

Out of her 30-plus years in the industry, Brunini’s book follows the last ten years.

“Bow is not an exploration of her art perse, as much as a reflection of her soul and its connection to the ethos of nature and human history,” explained Tim Adams, a member of the editorial review board for GIA’s Gem & Geology Journal, in his review of the book.

Bow is split into four chapters which reflect her jewelry collections, “Spirit Animals,” “Body Armor and Brutalism,” “AeZeus Baldwin,” and “The Red Thread.”

Throughout the book’s 94 pages, images of Brunini’s jewelry are placed beside her prose, which “weave a recreation of both mindset and growth patterns in humanity,” said the brand.

The Spirit Animals chapter focuses on animal motifs and pieces using materials like cassis rufa, jet, neolithic wood, and fossilized bone.

The next chapter covers two collections which show a “recognition of the strength in vulnerability,” according to the brand.

While Body Armor and Brutalism have similarities, they are separated by the launch date and the experience Brunini had while creating them.

The AeZeus Baldwin chapter is Brunini’s attempt at “kintsugi,” a Japanese repair technique that uses lacquer mixed with powdered gold to piece together broken pottery.

Aside from jewelry, this collection also includes vintage Japanese textiles split into four themes: earth, fire, water, and wind.

The final chapter of the book, The Red Thread, is named after the ancient Chinese belief that “two people can be predestined to find each other, spiritually bound by the lunar god,” explained Brunini in her book.

Brunini’s newest collection, which shares the same name as her book, also centers on this belief.

Bow was inspired by the concept of “we are,” meaning that we are a community of interconnected unity of energy.

Within the collection, she incorporates symbols of a bow and arrow, soaring red-tailed hawks, katanas, and fire and ice because of her belief in honoring our stewardship of planet, cementing legacy, emphasizing respect, and practicing self-mastery.

All the while it continues to use Brunini’s design aesthetic, displaying how she pairs unlikely combinations of gems, pearls, and alternative metals.

Brunini’s one-of-a-kind pieces feature rare opal, abalone pearls, emeralds, opalized squid beak, moonstone, Italian cameos, and burnt orange-colored diamonds.

Her new Bow collection is made up of about 20 pieces, including necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings.

It is available on the K. Brunini Jewels website.

Published by BBeyond Books, the Bow book is available now in limited quantities.

It can be purchased for $100 on the 1st Dibs website.

Previously, Brunini has also published “Twenty,” to celebrate her first 20 years in the jewelry industry.

Her work has been featured in “The New Jewelers” by Oliver Dupon, “Jewelry’s Shining Stars” by Beth Bernstein, “Bejeweled: The World of Ethical Jewelry” by Kyle Roderick, “Women Jewellery Designers” by Juliet Weir de-La Rochefoucauld, and the 2021 to 2023 editions of “Spectacular and Collectable Pieces” by BBeyond Books.