Abakus Jewelry

"Zipper Sushi Brain" bib necklace

"Pawn" bib necklace

"Rice Blast" necklace

From left: 18-kt gold plate python cuff & pearl python cuff

Her cuffs were used in this recent Bruce and Emma Willis shoot.

Meet Abakus jewelry designer Marsha Chung-Matsubara:

W: What's the craziest item you've made?

Marsha: Ha-ha, I have a few, but my "zipper sushi brain" necklace (picture 1) would have to be the craziest since it was sewn through multi layers of coiled zipper while stabilizing the steel zipper teeth. My fingers were raw and bloody for three weeks.

W: Who are your clients?

Marsha: My private clients are mostly from the Upper East Side, Boca Raton and Palm Beach. My uptown clients are not typical UESers-they are very edgy and know how to tear up Park Avenue. I also consider Patricia Field and her team my clients since they ave used my jewelry on Ugly Betty and the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic. They just borrowed some for the Sex and the City sequel. I also sent my work to Chuck Damon for Gossip Girl, so we shall see.....I love Chuck and Blair!

W: Tell us more about the new collection you're doing, it's a more commercial one right?

Marsha: Designing object d'art pieces is great, but they take a certain level of confidence to wear. I wore my "Rice Blast" necklace (picture 3) out, and no one talked to me, everyone talked about my necklace! My new collection is called "The Dark Side of Pale"-it's visually more powerful but more conservative. You can wear it to a museum or to the grocery store.

W: How did you get started?

Marsha: My parents said that when I was four, I wore a small, heavy bike chain around my neck. Later when I wanted my ears pierced, I stuck Chiquita banana stickers on my earlobe. When I was about seven, my mother was teaching me to use the abacus. I was so frustrated that I threw it and all the beads scattered. From then on I used wooden beads to make necklaces. That's where I got the name for my line.

W: You've actually had a lot of jobs in finance, right?

Marsha: It's been an Eclectic Odyssey, I studied fashion design at Parsons, but after graduation, I ended up working in finance because it was somehow easier to find a job. I spent years hopping back and forth from finance to fashion-I worked at a venture capital firm, then an investment bank, then Fendi, then HSBC, then Comme Des Garcons. I also worked at a french cosmetics packaging firm called Alcan. I got terminated for a conflict of interest because I asked the Hong Kong factory to produce my Abakus logo tag....oops! My director's last words were, "I'll probably see you on television or something".

W: What does your family say?

Marsha: There comes a point where you realize that you cannot always please your parents and decide not to pursue law, etc. Believe it or not, they have no clue what caliber of work I'm doing right now. I don't want them to worry. I'll tell them around Thanksgiving when I visit Minnesota. (W magazine)

I love her jewelry and I love her design aesthetic.....she's a women after my own heart!