Amedeo Scognamiglio

Amedeo Scognamiglio was born in a family devoted to the ancient art of making cameos, or hand-carving on seashells, for five generations. He taught himself to carve when he was about 16, in his father’s workshop by the footsteps of Mount Vesuvius in the Bay of Naples. He remembers being fascinated by his mom’s designs and trying to learn from her. His mother drew silhouettes of romantic women on shells with a pencil, and then the family carvers would turn the drawing into a beautiful and modern cameo. To Amedeo, the artistic transformation was nothing less than magical. See his family’s whole line of cameo jewelry at cameos.com.