Cássia Soares Appel was born into a family of artists in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Her grandmother was a painter, her mother a talented teacher and designer and her childhood was full of creative explorations. She was already drawing by the age of four, and won first place in a city-wide art competition in Sao Paulo when she was eleven. She wrote and illustrated a children’s book when she was 21.

Cássia studied fashion design at SENAC in Sao Paulo and recieved a BA in advertising at FIAM. She worked as a fashion illustrator for a number of years in the Brazilian fashion industry before moving to the states. In California Cássia got married, had a son, and took up jewelry design and fashion illustration. Some of her fashion illustations are on this this page.

Cassia brings her love of natural shapes and textures to her designs, which she fabricates and casts into silver and gold, adorns with Brazilian stones, gems, pearls and other organic materials such as leather, woods and seeds, to create delightfully surprising and fun accessories.