Jewelry Designer / 3D Artist | Akiyo Matsuoka 松岡晃代
Between Geometry and Organic Forms
Hidden within nature—from plants and cells to seashells—are intricate geometric forms. Inspired by these patterns, Akiyo Matsuoka explores the beauty of three-dimensional form.
A jewelry designer, 3D artist, and educator, Matsuoka has built a career at the intersection of craftsmanship and digital technology. After launching her own jewelry brand, she discovered Rhino, a 3D modeling software that opened new creative horizons.
Today, she teaches at FIT and Parsons School of Design and trains professionals across industries, from luxury jewelry houses such as Harry Winston and Tiffany & Co. to the military sector.
Based in Manhattan, Matsuoka spoke with IROHA about her journey and how 3D modeling is expanding the possibilities of creative expression.
Akiyo wearing accessories she designed and 3D-printed herself.
IROHA: What first led you to become a jewelry designer in New York?
AKIYO: When I first came to New York, becoming a jewelry designer wasn’t remotely part of the plan.
In the 1980s, I was a member of the Tokyo-based band World Standard and later worked in public relations. Japan was in the midst of its economic boom, and life was incredibly hectic. I needed a break, so I came to New York to visit a friend. I felt an immediate affinity with the city—as if its rhythm suited my own.
I wanted to start over. Just two months after returning to Japan, I moved to New York with two suitcases.
At first, I worked for a public relations firm. My workday ended at five, and since I didn’t know many people here, I had a lot of free time.
Then I noticed a colleague making jewelry. It looked intriguing, so I signed up for a metalsmithing class at The 92nd Street Y in Manhattan.
I became completely absorbed in making things and decided to study it seriously, enrolling in the jewelry program at Parsons.
After graduating, I found a job designing jewelry at Escada to complement its ready-to-wear collections. I later worked on jewelry for the mass market and eventually decided to launch my own brand.
3D-printed accessories by Akiyo Matsuoka, featuring organic forms made possible by 3D modeling.
Designing Beyond the Mainstream
AKIYO: In the 1990s, statement jewelry was everywhere. Bold pieces made with precious stones were popular, while delicate jewelry was rare.
I wanted to create jewelry that was refined and understated—small and delicate, yet with a distinct presence when worn. That was the balance I was looking for.
I remember asking a diamond dealer about using tiny diamonds, and he said, “What would you possibly use diamonds that small for?”
But I wanted to make the pieces I envisioned. Working with tiny diamonds is quite familiar now, but at the time, it felt new.
I opened my own showroom in SoHo where I lived, then across from Bryant Park, called buyers myself, and handled the sales side of the business as well.
Design That Moves with the Body
AKIYO: But it wasn’t immediately embraced.My work occupied a space between fashion jewelry and fine jewelry, and that category wasn’t particularly well defined at the time.
Eventually, the collection was carried in 14 Neiman Marcus stores. The manager in Hawaii was a strong advocate for the work, and that was where it first gained momentum. From there, it began selling in places such as Chicago, Palo Alto, and San Francisco—markets with substantial Asian communities.
Takashimaya was also incredibly supportive and carried a substantial selection.
Retailers from across the country would visit the store when they came to New York to see what it was showing. In that sense, it became a showcase for my work.
IROHA: Your jewelry also appeared in Sex and the City, didn’t it?
AKIYO: Yes. Sarah Jessica Parker wore it as Carrie, in a scene with Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Akiyo Matsuoka's 18K Gold Caribbean Rain Lariat Necklace with Rubelite Tourmaline appeared in Sex and the City
The jewelry was understated, but the approach was quite innovative at the time. I was using briolette-cut rubellite tourmaline, which wasn’t something I was seeing other people do then.
I’ve always cared not only about the beauty of a piece in isolation, but also about how it fits and moves with the body.
With a necklace, for instance, I would consider the construction—the hinges and other connections—so that it followed the contours of the wearer. I wanted to bring an engineering perspective to the design, rather than relying on visual intuition alone.
A New Dimension: 3D Modeling
IROHA: What inspired you to expand from jewelry design into 3D modeling?
AKIYO: After getting married and having my first child, I closed the showroom for a time.
When I began thinking about returning to jewelry a few years after having my second child, I discovered that my designs had been copied. Seeing work, I had developed independently being imitated was deeply discouraging.
Around that time, I learned about Rhino, a 3D modeling program used by companies such as Tiffany & Co. I was intrigued by the possibility of designing something on a computer and then producing it with a 3D printer.
In 2010, I enrolled in a continuing education course at FIT, and I found it fascinating. It felt like a light had suddenly switched on—this was it. I became completely hooked.
I asked the course’s teaching assistant to tutor me, and I studied intensively, spending several hours at a time learning the software. I was utterly absorbed.
I could draw on the sensibility I had developed through music and jewelry design, then use numerical precision to translate the forms I imagined into three-dimensional structures on a screen. It felt as though my previous experience and this new technology had clicked into place.
As I became more proficient, I found myself increasingly interested in teaching—and in helping other people use the technology to realize their own ideas.
I’ve also been teaching at Parsons since 2019. Alongside my jewelry classes, I developed a 3D CAD course specifically for fashion accessories. It’s very popular—the available spots fill up in about three minutes.
An Expanding World of Possibilities
IROHA: You also train teams at companies across a wide range of industries. Is that right?
AKIYO: Yes. At Macy’s, for example, I taught employees how to use Rhino to develop the enormous balloons and floats for the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Akiyo at the factory where Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade floats are assembled.
My corporate training work has included Harry Winston, Tiffany & Co., Tory Burch, Ralph Lauren, and Movado. I also worked with the home furnishings company West Elm.
In entertainment, I’ve trained teams at production companies working on projects associated with Disney and Universal Studios.
I’ve also worked with the Marine Corps, the U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin, including people who create aircraft models for simulations.
Whenever I take on a project, I study the industry myself. If I’m working with furniture or architecture, I first learn how those things are designed and developed. That understanding informs how I teach.
A New Logic of Making
IROHA: What advantages does 3D technology offer the jewelry industry?
AKIYO: Digital files make it easy to adjust dimensions and forms, and you can evaluate a design without having to produce every sample physically. It can also reduce material waste and make production more sustainable.
Traditionally, mass production required creating a prototype and then making a mold from it. As 3D printing technology has advanced, it has become increasingly possible to print multiple models in a short time and move directly into casting.
IROHA: So, 3D modeling has become an essential tool across many industries.
AKIYO: Absolutely. It is now used around the world, from architecture to automotive components.
In medicine, it can be used to create customized prosthetic limbs and other devices tailored to an individual’s body.
I once read a news story about a boy who was born without a hand. His father bought a 3D printer and made him a prosthetic hand. The boy was able to use it—and was delighted that it looked “cool,” too. That’s a wonderful example of technology being put to meaningful use.
I always tell my students that learning 3D modeling doesn’t mean acquiring a skill that is limited to jewelry.
There are so many fields where the technology can be applied, including product design, furniture, fashion, and manufacturing. The skills you learn will serve you in many different ways.
Akiyo Matsuoka with Carlos Loreto, who studied 3D modeling at FIT and is now an acclaimed footwear designer known for his luxury shoe designs and avant-garde 3D-modeled soles.
The Hidden Geometry of Nature
IROHA: Has working in 3D changed the way you approach design?
AKIYO: The starting point is still the same as when I made jewelry by hand.I begin with something I want to create, then explore how to give it form.
What the computer offers is the freedom to experiment—to keep adjusting and transforming a shape as I work.
When you carve wax by hand, you can’t simply undo what you’ve removed. With 3D modeling, you have much more room to test possibilities and refine them.
I’m particularly drawn to the geometry and structures hidden within organic forms. I tend to see the world in terms of shape.
The growth of flowers and plants, the structures of cells, the forms of shells—there are geometries and fractal patterns embedded in all of them. I’m fascinated by the process of translating those forms into a logically constructed design.
Through 3D modeling, I want to express the organic rhythms and unseen order within nature and the body.
Nature is full of curves and complex forms, yet within them, you can often sense a geometric order. I want to explore that tension through digital technology.
Rhino allows me to describe intricate curves and organic shapes with precision. There are also forms that can only be realized through 3D printing.
The process can lead beyond the idea I initially imagined. As I work, I sometimes discover a new form and arrive at something entirely unexpected. That’s one of the most exciting aspects of it.
For me, the technology is more than a tool for making objects. It’s a creative partner that expands the way I think.
Going forward, I’d like to extend my work beyond jewelry into fashion accessories and home décor.
In the summer of 2026, I held a solo exhibition at the Goto gallery in Ginza, bringing together my jewelry and other 3D artworks.
A 3D-printed flower vase by Akiyo Matsuoka, exhibited at Goto Gallery.
What Makes an Idea Human
IROHA: As AI becomes increasingly present in design, what value do you think human creativity holds?
AKIYO: AI can suggest beautiful things. But I think creating something beautiful and creating something original are two different things.
A creator’s originality comes from what they have seen, what they have experienced, and what has moved them. Their personal history and sensibility find their way into the work. To me, that is where originality resides.
What matters is asking why you are making something, and why you find it beautiful. That requires human sensitivity, judgment, and the capacity to question.
Even if AI takes over certain technical tasks, you still need experience and knowledge to assess whether the result is genuinely good—or whether it is what you were looking for in the first place. How that result is used, and how it is developed further, remains the designer’s responsibility.
Used thoughtfully, AI can be an effective tool. But I don’t see it as a substitute for human creativity or judgment.
Go Forth Unafraid
IROHA: Finally, what advice would you give to young people who are about to enter a new field?
AKIYO: First, don’t wait for the perfect moment. Many people feel they need to have everything in place before they begin.
But there is no such thing as a perfect state of readiness. What matters is taking that first step.
Then, develop an area of expertise. Ask yourself what you want to do and what you want to convey. Hold on to that central purpose and cultivate the strengths that make you who you are.
Just as importantly, don’t be afraid of being different. When I wanted to make delicate jewelry, it wasn’t what the market favored, and there were people who didn’t understand it. Even so, I continued because I believed in what I wanted to create.
You can’t create value that is uniquely yours by simply doing what everyone else is doing. See what makes you different not as a weakness, but as a strength—and share it with confidence.
In the United States in particular, difference can be embraced as a source of individuality and value. I hope young people will keep taking risks while staying true to themselves.
Accessories designed by Akiyo Matsuoka and created using 3D printing.
The phrase I’d like to offer young people is “Go Forth Unafraid.”
It was actually the motto of the school my children attended. It resonated with me so strongly that I’ve adopted it myself.
Move forward without fear. Don’t be afraid of being different. Be willing to take on challenges. I hope they’ll carry that spirit with them.
LINKS
PROFILE
Akiyo Matsuoka is a New York–based jewelry designer, 3D artist, and educator whose work bridges traditional craftsmanship and cutting-edge 3D technology.
She began her career in 1993, designing jewelry for Escada’s Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter 1994 collections. After graduating with honors from Parsons School of Design in New York, she founded her fine jewelry brand, AKIYO MATSUOKA, in 1997. Inspired by nature, music, and the human form, her sculptural designs have been sold internationally at retailers including Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Takashimaya, Wako, and Lane Crawford, and featured in Vogue, W, Vanity Fair, and Town & Country.
Matsuoka now explores the possibilities of computational design and 3D printing to create dimensional, lightweight jewelry and products.
An authorized Rhino trainer, she is an Assistant Professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons School of Design, where she teaches 3D modeling and jewelry design. She also provides design consultancy and specialized training for leading brands, including Tiffany & Co., Harry Winston, Coach, Ralph Lauren, and Movado Group.
Through her design practice and teaching, she continues to push the boundaries of creativity at the intersection of art, technology, and craftsmanship.