Photo by Carmel Brantley
A self-described “happy workaholic,” Mish has a passion for the garden that not only infuses his jewelry designs but also his studio, where he brings the outdoors in. His signature color, saturated lavender, envelops the trellis room, a place where he often meets with clients.
Jewelry designer Mish Tworkowski isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. A gardener since childhood, he takes pleasure in the perpetual taks of digging and pruning, weeding and fertilizing, even the trial-and-error joys and frustrations of bringing seedlings to fruition. While there are those gardeners who most appreciate wandering amid the bounty of the garden, that’s not Mish, who tilled and tended his childhood garden with his parents. “For most gardeners, it’s an unconscious way of life, but I’ve found it’s also a great problem solver,” he says. “Removing things you don’t want, finding satisfaction when you make something better. It’s spiritual in a way. It takes you out of yourself.”
Photo by Jeffery Westbrook | Styling by Alexander Wolf
“The sweetly scented scabiosa flower symbolizes pure love,” says Mish Tworkowski. For his oversized Scabiosa Earclips, the jewelry designer renders their intricately ruffled petals in 18-karat gold surrounding a diamond pavé center.
That roll-up-your-sleeves image may be at odds with perception after a visit to his Palm Beach shop and studio MISH Fine Jewelry. The Addison Mizner building hosts his creations and reflects his aesthetic—colorful walls, custom and vintage furniture, and 18-karat gold and platinum jewelry that seduces every shop visitor or potential collector. But there is more to the story, and it may best be told in relation to his latest collection, MISH’s Garden, that encompasses designs based on the blooms that have enchanted him over the course of his life.
The collection’s earliest inspiration can be traced back to Mish’s love of gardening and flowers, but he also spent his adolescent years working in a family-owned jewelry store and studio, learning about gemstones and metals, forging and chasing, and observing. His first adult job at Sotheby’s Auction House in New York brought the young artist up-close to art and design and then fine jewelry as he was developing his own line.
Photo by Carmel Brantley
Mish collaborated with interior designer Katie Ridder to create a stylish space to greet guests, feed his creativity, and entertain, as he does here frequently.
In the years following, Mish left the auction house and opened his own shop and studio in Manhattan. He and his husband, architect Joseph Singer, bought a house in Millbrook, New York, where they could garden on a grander scale, allowing Mish to cultivate the flowers that would eventually inspire his collections.
Photo by Carmel Brantley
Bouquets of fresh flowers fill the studio, such as these hyacinths casually massed in a majolica pitcher.
After visiting Palm Beach regularly, the couple eventually decided to move there permanently and open a store. Says Mish, “Palm Beach is such a happy place,” citing friendships made and cemented, as well as the inspiration that surrounds him. “It’s a beautiful place to design. There’s remarkable light and color saturation—it’s like living in a garden year-round.”
Photo by Jeffery Westbrook | Styling by Alexander Wolf
Since moving to Palm Beach and gardening in its tropical climate, Mish has deepened his appreciation for orchids. “I’m a little orchid obsessed,” he says. A trio of rings from the new collection (from top to bottom): Laelia, Cattleya, and Oncidium.
Mish’s latest collection melds past inspiration with his current environs. Both flowers from his Millbrook garden and the tropical plants prolific in Palm Beach appear in his designs. “It represents the full spectrum of American flowers,” he says. But the collection did not happen overnight. “It came together gradually,” says Mish. “I’d pick something up and put it down, and then the designs started to coalesce into one big garden.”
“Choosing a favorite flower is impossible, although I’m always attracted to ones that are humble but have a brilliance of their own.”
—Mish Tworkowski
An avid researcher, Mish talks art history and horticulture, then segues into the engineering behind each piece. The fleeting nature of the bloom “forces you to focus and examine every detail—the back of the leaves, the stem, the petals, and sepals,” he explains. To translate the ephemeral into a wearable treasure, the designer considers his medium—gold or platinum, pearls and precious stones—and their weight, texture, and finish. A heavier piece might be a brooch rather than an earring. “I’m constantly changing things out of necessity—no one wants to wear a paperweight,” he says with a laugh. And that’s when he uses his creative license. “I prefer the movement of gold and the delicate edges of the petals.” When he modeled a piece after the Magnolia Grandiflora, he used a satin finish outside and the shiny finish on the underside, a witty reversal of what you see on an actual leaf.
Photo by Jeffery Westbrook | Styling by Alexander Wolf
The collection’s range rivals the most profuse garden in bloom.
Mish’s love of color and pattern, evident in the design of his studio as well as his home, are extensions of his personal and professional experience. He’s on the boards of both the New York Botanical Garden and the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach. “Gardeners in general make excellent preservationists. There is so much advocacy work to both,” he says. “They’re both interested in good town planning, keeping the fabric of a neighborhood intact, and creating beauty. A good garden and a good house marry well.” Regarding his work with the New York Botanical Garden, Mish says, “It’s the most important garden in the world with its dedication to science, education, and pure horticulture. Plants are a bellwether for environmental stresses. It’s the culmination of a gardener’s mentality born from a scientist’s thoughts and discoveries.”
Photo by Jeffery Westbrook | Styling by Alexander Wolf
The Millefleur Necklace features rose, jonquil, and daisy blossoms.
Within his design work and philanthropy lies a recognition of the eternal nature of things. Mish hopes his jewelry will have a life beyond its original purchaser. The timelessness of the designs underscores that notion. He mentions a recent client who asked him to make two cuffs, “which she wore together, of course, because she’s that chic,” he says. But she also asked him to engrave the names of her daughters on the inside of each. “I love that they’ll each have something personal created for them to remind them of their mother.” In Mish’s deft hands and imagination, each petal, leaf, and stamen of the real-life flowers that continuously inspire him are transformed into bejeweled heirlooms destined to be appreciated for many seasons to come.
Photo by Carmel Brantley
Walls inside Mish's showroom bathed in Benjamin Moore's "Heather Plum" paint.
