Meet the Artist–Garrett Benedict

When we began exploring the future of men’s jewelry at Kinn, we knew the pieces had to feel lived-in, not styled. Designed with weight, but not for display. So when it came time to introduce our first men’s signet ring — the Benedict Signet — the story behind it mattered just as much as the metal. Garrett Benedict, the Portland-based chef and owner of G-Love, is that story.


Garrett’s wife, Kelsey, first came to Jennie to redesign a family heirloom, a generational stone passed down through three women in her family, as her wedding ring. From there, we had the privilege of also creating Garrett’s matching wedding band. A few years later, that very band — worn in, scratched, and perfectly imperfect — inspired the first piece in our men’s fine jewelry collection: The Benedict Signet Ring.


Q: You’ve mentioned you were drawn to creative work early on. How did that evolve into food — and ultimately, a restaurant?


Garrett: “I tried everything when I was younger, pottery, creative writing, even a jewelry-making class in high school,” Garrett says. “But nothing stuck until I started cooking. I was 14. I read Kitchen Confidential and Becoming a Chef, and it just clicked. I didn’t want to cook. I wanted to live in that world.”


Raised in Alaska and trained at the Culinary Institute of America, Garrett’s culinary path has always balanced craft with curiosity. After working under a Michelin-starred chef at Meadowood in Napa and traveling across the U.S. to stage in kitchens from New Orleans to New York, he eventually opened G-Love in Portland — a chef-owned, produce-forward restaurant with ingredients sourced from his family’s farm. “You come home from the farmers market with an idea, and by dinner, it’s on the menu. There’s something addictive about that.”


Q: You once said food is one of the only art forms that disappears. What did you mean by that?


Garrett: "Music gets played. Paintings hang in museums. But food? It’s gone in minutes,” he explains. “Every day you start from scratch. You’re refining a craft that resets constantly." Take G-Love’s signature focaccia: “It took seventeen trials to get the recipe right. And now, we’ve made it every single day for the past four and a half years. There’s something beautiful in that kind of repetition.”


Q: Kelsey’s heirloom ring and your wedding band both came from Kinn. What made those pieces meaningful to you?


Garrett: “I wasn’t someone who wore jewelry,” Garrett admits. “Before Kelsey, I had two tattoos and zero interest in rings or metal. But she came to Jennie with this incredible family stone, it had passed through three generations, and seeing what you created together changed the way I saw it.” Garrett’s own ring came shortly after. “That band is beat up now. I wear it every day. When I’m plating, scrubbing, tossing dough. But I love it more because of the scratches. That’s the character.”


It’s the kind of wear that doesn’t damage — it deepens. That ring became the prototype for the Benedict Signet, Kinn’s first modern men’s ring designed for permanence and patina.


Q: This is the first time we’ve released an edit for men. How does it feel to be part of that beginning?


Garrett: “I think there’s this assumption that men don’t care about jewelry, but we do,” Garrett says. “We just want it to mean something. If I put something on, it’s staying on. I cook in it, I live in it. That’s how I feel about the Benedict Signet. It feels solid. Intentional.” The signet is cast in solid gold and designed to age well, to take on the texture of a life well lived. “It’s not just for moments. It’s for the everyday,” he adds.


Q: What changed for you when you started wearing jewelry?


Garrett: “Honestly, it wasn’t something I ever thought about. But when Kelsey brought me into it — when it became tied to her, to us — it just stuck. It’s not about style for the sake of style. It’s for someone who knows who they are, or at least who they’re becoming. Someone who appreciates intention. These pieces feel permanent. Like something you grow into.”


Explore the Benedict Signet

Crafted in solid gold and inspired by the personal story of Garrett Benedict, the Benedict Signet Ring is designed for the kind of man who values permanence, presence, and process.


Shop the Men’s Collection