Meet The Artist

Our artist, Lucas Vandecar was raised in Oregon, where he developed his love of creating for others. He attended one of the world’s top culinary schools, Western Culinary Institute, and began his first career. While studying, he trained under a Certified Master Chef. Luke went on to open many successful restaurants in the Pacific Northwest. He later enjoyed a very successful corporate career which included positions of Purchasing Manager for the San Diego Chargers, Concessions Manager for teams including the San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants, Portland Timbers, and Portland Beavers. Eventually he served as the General Manager of the San Jose Events Center. Luke later returned to the Pacific Northwest, lending his expertise to the Portland Trailblazers and Hillsboro Hops, helping to run operations. Along the way, Luke developed a hobby of collecting memorabilia, not the least of which are historical and rare coins, building his collection over the past 10 years. The unique beauty and history of these coins inspired Luke to try something new - creating coin related art.

Three years ago, Luke decided to leave his very successful corporate career, and dedicate his ingenuity, love of fine detail, creativity, and innate sense of balance and beauty to making coin art full time.

For Luke, creating coin and silver art is an intimate process. Before deciding on coin design, size and weight, he thinks about how his creation will be used or where or how it will be worn. Once he’s ready to create a piece, he considers the coin in relation to his idea, and does not recognize boundaries of what is possible. Completely opposed to an industrial approach, he bends or cuts the metal as if the specific item will be the only one he will ever make. Luke is mostly self-taught, removing many of the restrictions about what can and cannot be created using a coin. In fact, when Luke began cutting coins for puzzles and other designs, he did not know it had been done before, so he devised his particular hand-cutting method on his own. It is worth noting that he later integrated into the coin art community, and discovered that others were cutting coins, and the community artists noted that his cutting process is entirely unique to him. It is Luke’s unbridled creativity, and his determination to bring his ideas to life, that allowed him to create his signature Coin Jars. Luke’s domed-top coin jars are his original creation and unique to his portfolio.

History, ingenuity, coins and precious metals, combine to create art with a modern flair.

After years of practice, Luke has found that not limiting the coin to what has been done before allows for surprising and elegant results. Even when he “started small” with only rings, he always matched his meticulousness with curiosity. Seeking new methods for metal bending, and adapting processes from art created with other materials, he has studied various techniques and designs that have helped him cultivate a singular yet accessible style. This, coupled with his desire to collaborate with other artists, or his customers, ensures that his art is always evolving to find that next piece that has never been done before.