Sien began as a forgotten childhood dream
When my first design appeared behind my closed eyes in 2021, it brought back memories of how I used to spend my quiet childhood days: making beautiful, intricately crafted things—treasure boxes, picture frames, dresses for my dolls, but most of all, jewels. The shinier and curlier, the better.
A love I had berried deep under aspirations of becoming scientist and the fear of choosing a creative path. It wasn't until life shook me up - and showed me how short it can be - that I reconnected to the crafty lover of curly shapes and shiny stones in me.
I closed my eyes and saw gold
In 2021, I was a neuropsychology researcher and teacher at the University of Amsterdam. I had just finished my degrees, spent six years following my fascination with the human and collective psyche—and completely lost touch with my creativity.
After a tragic accident that nearly killed me, I was struggling to cope with PTSD and the heavy feeling that life might never feel safe or free again.
After a deeply healing therapy session, I walked out feeling like I had shed a heavy load of fear and grief. I took a walk by the water, closed my eyes, and saw the golden silhouette of a woman's body with a shiny red gemstone in place of a nipple. A flowing, feminine shape that became the first piece I made when I started smithing two years later.
I slowly began to reconnect with my childhood dream of becoming an artist and jewelry designer. Drawing more and more. Sometimes jewelry, but most days mandalas—intuitively, from the center.
In my designs, which still come to me intuitively, I recognize the curly shapes I used to love as a child, along with the geometric and organic forms I drew in my mandalas. I’m inspired by the patterns and proportions of sacred geometry (the Sien logo follows the proportions of the Flower of Life) —the geometry of harmony and organic growth. A sacred framework where science and nature—mind and spirit—unite.
Gold is my teacher,
Smithing my meditation.
Gold—a strong and enduring material, largely unaffected by time or external forces—helps me find alignment and clarity. When I work with gold, I too become more steady and unaffected. I often get into a meditative state where life slows down and everything feels still and lucid.
This is why I love working with gold wire. I treasure the time I spend shaping gold by hand, from raw material to finished design.
The ancient Egyptians called gold “the skin of the gods”, believing that wearing it granted access to the sacred.
To me, sacred means intentional, heart-centered, and soulful—acting with mindful, loving presence, for the beauty of the act itself and the creative power of the moment.
This is how I create, and it’s the feeling I hope to inspire in everyone who encounters my jewelry.
Thank you for your presence and interest.
With love,
Sabine