Bernadette Ngai is a metal artist based in San Francisco’s Bay Area. She studied Metalsmithing at the Monterey Peninsula College and has completed further jewelry design classes at College of Marin. Ngai’s work focuses on repurposing found and vintage items to create unique jewelry and objects. Her pieces have been exhibited across California as well as in South Korea.
Ngai’s Looking for balance necklace demonstrates her approach of looking at disused vintage objects with new eyes and embracing the challenge of reinventing their components into original new jewelry pieces. The piece is assembled from found objects such as clock gears, pebbles and recycled brass pulley, the latter of which is employed as the central element implying the need for a balance with nature.