ABOUT

Kai Hill

I am a queer metalsmith/art jeweler based in Durham, North Carolina. Making Jewelry is my passion, and my way of processing the world. The way we adorn ourselves is and always has been a very detailed portrait of who we are as individuals and how we fit into the larger fabric of our society. It is how we preen, protest, and pray. It can be sentimental, the mode of the love language of gift giving, or pure guiltless vanity. I believe that we grow every time we give gifts to those we love, especially ourselves, and each piece I make holds that intention within its seams.

I feel passionate about my role in queering fine jewelry. I am committed to being a safe and accessible resource to help you navigate the wedding industry. I am always on the quest to expand the breadth of my skills to better serve my clients, and elevate what I am able to offer my community.

Kai Hill was a Junior artist in resident at Silverworks Studios in Glen Echo MD in Highschool. She graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Art from the Colorado College, where she taught jewelry making in the Arts and Crafts department as an undergraduate. She studied with Tom Muir at Arrowmont School of arts and crafts, and Arthur Hash and Elliot Clapp at Pocosin Arts School of Fine Craft. She also studied stone setting under Blaine Lewis at the New Approach School for Jewelers. Her work has been shown in the Colorado Springs Fine Arts center, the Snag JAMS 2018 publication, and the Schwa National Juried exhibition in Greenville NC. Kai currently works part-time alongside Ken Weston at Hamilton Hill Jewelry as a designer/goldsmith, and teaches stone setting classes at OQZO Metalsmith in Hillsborough NC.

At the Source

Each piece is hand-made in my studio in Durham, North Carolina. I source my stones carefully from US based stone cutters and sellers that I trust and who source responsibly. I am in the process of becoming Fairmined Certified, and am always looking for ways to learn more and grow more towards a more responsible and equitable jewelry industry.