DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 23 April) — A shell, smoothed by the sea, rests against the collarbone — threaded into a necklace that feels less like an accessory than like a fragment of a memory.

In the hands of Kyriene “Ky” Escosora, the 23-year-old founder of the Davao-based jewelry label Kaia, such objects take on new life. Her pieces — often made from shells, stones, clay, and other organic materials — carry the textures of the environments they come from, shaped as much by place as by the person who wears them.

“Kaia started very organically just around the same time last year,” said Ky, “when I began experimenting with materials like shells, clay, and found objects, mostly as a way to express ideas I couldn’t put into words.”

“Over time, it evolved into a brand that reflects both my personal journey and my profound connection with nature,” she continued.

What began as an experiment with small, personal pieces has since grown into a small but steadily evolving brand, connecting with customers through pop-ups, art markets, and social media, talking about how the offline experience of customers interacting with the pieces makes the exchange more personal.

But like many young creatives, Ky has had to navigate the practical challenges of building a brand from the ground up.

“One of the biggest challenges is maintaining consistency while staying true to the handmade nature of the work,” she said, also enumerating challenges such as pricing each piece, the rising rent for pop-ups, and the need to keep items affordable without sacrificing quality.

Still, Kaia has continued to grow, finding its way — through markets and online spaces — to a younger audience increasingly drawn to handmade, small-batch work.

Rooted in place

Across Kaia’s collections, a consistent visual language emerges: earth tones, materials that appear almost found rather than made, and an emphasis of natural texture over polish. Shells sit beside hand-molded clay, and stones are strung in such a way that highlights asymmetry.

“Place plays a huge role in my work,” Ky answered, sharing how being surrounded by and attuned to “the sea, landscapes, and natural textures influences both the materials I use and the forms I create.”

“I’m drawn to imperfections,” she added — like uneven surfaces and organic shapes. “These elements reflect how nature doesn’t strive for perfection, and I try to carry that same honesty into my pieces.”

Her pieces draw inspiration from environments such as coastal landscapes, the sea, the earth, and the quiet, tactile qualities of its natural materials. The result is jewelry that feels grounded, almost archival, as if each piece carries a fragment of where it came from.

These pieces become more meaningful when that fragment finds its way to its new owner, who then breathes new meaning into it, forming a new bond with the piece but never severing its bond with the original place. In this light, the jewelry becomes a bridge that brings its wearer closer to nature.

Pieces that carry memory

“I like that jewelry is both intimate and wearable,” Ky shared. “Unlike other art forms, it becomes part of someone’s everyday life… it moves with them, carries their energy,” and “holds personal meaning.”

“It’s a small-scale medium, but it has a strong emotional presence,” she added.

This sense of meaning is further underscored by the pieces Ky herself is most drawn to personally.

“I’m most drawn to making customized pieces,” she said.

“I like creating around a specific person — their body, style, and how they want to feel wearing it,” she shared, saying how that kind of collaboration “makes it more personal.”

Many of Kaia’s pieces are also one-of-one — no exact duplicates, each shaped individually by hand. For Ky, this uniqueness is central to the brand’s identity.

“Creating one-of-one pieces allows me to treat each work as something complete on its own, rather than something to be replicated,” she said. “It keeps the process honest and prevents it from becoming mechanical.”

“For me, it’s important that whoever owns a piece knows that it exists only once,” she added.

But this also comes with its own challenges: “Since many pieces are one-of-one, production isn’t scalable,” said Ky.

But despite the challenge, rather than mass production, Kaia is committed to the slow, intimate process of shaping something unique and one-of-a-kind.

Worn, then carried

“Each piece carries the memory of how it was made — the place, the mood, even the specific materials I found at that time,” Ky said. “Once it’s worn, it starts collecting new memories … In that way, the story continues beyond me.”

Kaia’s pieces remain small: shells, stones, clay shaped by hand. But once worn, they take on a sense of place, of memory, of becoming. (Bea Gatmaytan/MindaNews)