Taras Kydon Exclusively for JewelModel: The Future of Jewelry Design with Rhino and Grasshopper Gold
· 5 min read
Grasshopper Gold has become one of the most recognizable jewelry-focused toolsets in the Rhino ecosystem. At the time of this interview, it had passed 71,000 downloads on Food4Rhino and was listed first in its Jewelry Design category.
But Grasshopper Gold did not begin as a commercial software project or as an attempt to compete with established jewelry CAD packages. It grew from a much simpler idea: a working jeweler wanted better tools for his own daily work.
Its creator, Taras Kydon, comes from a traditional jewelry background rather than software engineering. He learned to work with metal before moving into 3D modeling, spent years using Gemvision Matrix, later discovered what Rhino could do on its own, and eventually began building the tools he felt were missing. Today, Grasshopper Gold combines Grasshopper algorithms, C#, custom interfaces, and Taras's experience with real production jewelry workflows.
We spoke with Taras about how the project started, how he approaches large pavé projects with thousands of stones, why he does not consider MatrixGold a direct competitor, what users keep asking him to automate, and where Grasshopper Gold may go next.
The interview was conducted in Ukrainian. The responses below have been translated into English and lightly edited for clarity while preserving their original meaning.
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From Traditional Jewelry Making to 3D CAD
JewelModel:
To start, tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from, what were you doing before Grasshopper Gold, and how did you get into 3D modeling and jewelry CAD?
Taras Kydon:
My name is Taras. I was born in 1989 and I come from the Ternopil region of Ukraine. Since childhood, I have loved drawing and sculpture, and I have always been interested in computer technology.
I studied artistic jewelry making in college at VKPM (https://vkpm.org.ua). After graduating, I worked for some time as a jewelry designer at the Kramatorsk jewelry factory Empire of Gold. That was where I started learning 3D modeling as well as other technological processes involved in jewelry production. I worked at the factory until 2014, and after that I moved into freelance work.
JewelModel:
What was your path to Rhino and Grasshopper? Did jewelry and 3D modeling come first, or programming?
Taras:
At college, we learned jewelry making literally from the beginning. During the first year, we made our own jewelry tools from pieces of metal: small hammers, gravers, and saws. Later we moved on to more interesting things.
Because the college had an artistic focus, we did not simply manufacture tools. We also designed the pieces we would eventually make ourselves from silver or nickel silver. I think that gave me an internal understanding that a jeweler can create the tool he needs for himself.
I came to 3D modeling only after finishing college. The first software in which I created a 3D model was Gemvision Matrix 5, running on Rhino 4. I worked in Matrix for a long time. It was genuinely good software. It felt native and intuitive. You barely even needed to read the command line. You could press the buttons and work.
But at the same time, I did not understand that knowing Matrix did not necessarily mean knowing Rhino. I only realized that when I tried working directly in Rhino without any plugins. And honestly, that transition was brutal.
In my opinion, Rhino is a very good foundation for building plugins. But in its raw form, it is not particularly convenient for jewelry work. A lot of that comes down to habit. For some people, moving from Rhino to Matrix was probably just as difficult.
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> “I wanted to create something that would help jewelers work in pure Rhino without expensive plugins costing several thousand dollars.”
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Why Grasshopper Gold Was Created
JewelModel:
What specific problem led to the idea for Grasshopper Gold? What tool were you missing yourself?
Taras:
Grasshopper Gold came from the desire to create something that would allow a jeweler to work in pure Rhino without needing expensive plugins costing several thousand dollars.
I have always tried to make my workflow faster, so initially I wrote simple command scripts. Later I discovered Grasshopper, where it became possible to create parametric algorithms. My first tool was an algorithm for creating Azure, an undercut beneath stones in the form of a grid on a polysurface.
I might have continued using Matrix, but Gemvision released MatrixGold instead of continuing the old Matrix line. Personally, I felt that MatrixGold had moved in a direction that was different from what I wanted from a professional jewelry workflow. That is, of course, only my subjective opinion.
JewelModel:
Did you originally intend to create a complete jewelry toolset?
Taras:
No. At first I was thinking about only a few tools for my own tasks. But eventually I found a way to create user interfaces for these algorithms and launch them through relatively simple scripts. That was when I realized the idea could scale.
Grasshopper is node-based, and that allowed me to create a large number of fairly complicated and interesting tools relatively quickly. To give you an idea of the development process, writing and debugging C# code can take much longer than visually following the connections between Grasshopper nodes and finding where a problem occurs.
Once I also started building UI directly into the Grasshopper nodes, development became even faster. The tools started to feel much more like native commands from the user's perspective. Eventually I decided to share them with other people and published Grasshopper Gold on Food4Rhino.
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> “I started with only a few tools for my own work. Then I realized the idea could scale.”
From a Personal Toolkit to Tens of Thousands of Downloads
JewelModel:
Grasshopper Gold has now passed 71,000 downloads on Food4Rhino. Did you expect that kind of adoption?
Taras:
I did not expect it, and it definitely was not my original goal. Later, of course, it became a pleasant surprise.
I think the main reasons for Grasshopper Gold's popularity are its relatively free access model and its native-feeling UI.
At the same time, it is still far from ideal. Some parts of the interface and some approaches to working with the tools still feel quite archaic to me, and that is something I want to change.
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> “Some things are better in their tools, and some things are better in mine. Jewelers should choose what works for them.”
Grasshopper Gold vs. MatrixGold
Grasshopper Gold is often discussed as a lower-cost alternative to established commercial jewelry CAD systems, particularly MatrixGold. Taras himself does not see the relationship in such simple terms.
JewelModel:
Do you see Grasshopper Gold as a MatrixGold replacement, an extension of Rhino, or a different way of working entirely?
Taras:
I think jewelers should decide for themselves what works best for them. I do not really see MatrixGold, or other corporate solutions, as my competitors. We have very different financial resources, philosophies, and approaches to interacting with the software and constructing jewelry models. Some things are better in their tools, and some things are better in mine.
The main thing I would recommend is not installing too many jewelry plugins into the same Rhino environment. Having more plugins does not automatically make a designer better or more productive. In fact, it can make the workflow more complicated and potentially less stable.
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> “Some projects can contain more than 6,000 stones and 12,000 prongs.”
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Designing Jewelry with Thousands of Stones
One of the more interesting parts of Taras's current work is scale. He currently works at jewelry company GLD, where designs can involve thousands of gems and extremely large numbers of prongs. That environment has directly influenced how Grasshopper Gold handles geometry and performance.
JewelModel:
Which Grasshopper Gold tools are the most important in your own daily work?
Taras:
At the moment I work at GLD, where a major part of the work involves large numbers of stones and large, geometrically complex objects. Some projects can contain more than 6,000 stones and 12,000 prongs.
Inside Grasshopper Gold, I use not only Gems but also Block-type Prongs. This can significantly reduce the size of the saved file while also improving editing performance.
The tools I currently use most in daily jewelry work are:
GG_GemONGG_ProngBlockGG_GEMS_ON_CURVEGG_HEX_AUTO_PAVEGG_GEMS_to_PtCurve_on_ObjectGG_GEMS_and_PRONGS_SPRING
Performance becomes particularly important in this kind of workflow. A feature that feels fast when working with twenty stones may behave very differently when a model contains several thousand.
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What Makes Grasshopper Gold Different
JewelModel:
Which features do you consider genuinely unique, whether because MatrixGold has no direct equivalent or because your implementation is fundamentally different?
Taras:
In general, I try to make all the tools performance-oriented, especially when working with large quantities of Gems or Prongs.
Another important point is that my tools work natively with different types of geometry. And the cross-platform nature of the plugin makes it more universal. For me, compatibility is important. I want tools that can work across Mesh, Surface, and SubD workflows rather than being limited to one particular geometry type.
JewelModel:
Are there tools in Grasshopper Gold that users underestimate?
Taras:
I actually cannot answer that accurately. Grasshopper Gold does not collect or transmit analytics data, so I do not know which tools people use most frequently and which ones they rarely use. That is a limitation from the developer's point of view, but I deliberately do not have that kind of usage tracking.
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> “Users want one button that does everything while they drink coffee. Unfortunately, no algorithm can completely do that yet.”
How the Community Influences Development
Grasshopper Gold is unusual in that a significant part of its development happens around relatively direct communication between its creator and users. Patreon and Telegram are currently important sources of feature ideas and feedback.
JewelModel:
Where do new ideas usually come from? Your own work, technical experiments, or user problems?
Taras:
Probably the main source of ideas is the community on Patreon and Telegram. People share requests or send videos showing tools from competing products. Most of the time, however, these ideas are improvements to existing core tools rather than entirely new concepts.
JewelModel:
How much do community requests affect what you build?
Taras:
I try to implement them whenever I can. Right now, what many users really want is one button that does everything automatically while they drink coffee. Unfortunately, no algorithm can completely do that yet.
People want AutoPave that produces a perfect result automatically. They want AI that can build the model by itself. They want good rendering, high-quality mesh repair, and other automated tools. Doing all of that well is difficult for a solo developer.
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> “If it were entirely up to me, I would rethink Rhino much more fundamentally.”
Deciding What Is Worth Developing
For an independent developer, the limiting resource is not necessarily ideas. It is development time.
JewelModel:
How do you decide which requests to implement and which ones to reject?
Taras:
Usually I evaluate whether creating the tool makes sense and whether I realistically have the ability to build it. It is not pleasant to spend a lot of time creating something and then discover that nobody actually uses it.
That is why universality is very important to me, along with compatibility between Mesh, Surface, and SubD. This is actually something I think Rhino itself still lacks in some areas, although it is gradually improving in Rhino 8 and 9. If it were entirely up to me, I would rethink Rhino much more fundamentally.
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What Are Grasshopper Gold VIP Tools?
Grasshopper Gold also includes a VIP category, but Taras describes it less as a separate professional edition and more as a reward for users who financially support continued development.
JewelModel:
How does VIP access work?
Taras:
VIP tools are available to people who have donated a cumulative total of $100 or more. They were created as a thank-you for that support, and some of the tools were developed specifically in response to requests from those supporters.
In my opinion, you can work perfectly well without them. But they can make the workflow more convenient.
JewelModel:
Are the VIP tools mainly intended for professionals using Grasshopper Gold commercially every day?
Taras:
There are many different kinds of professionals. Some professionals do not need my plugin at all because they write their own scripts and build their own Grasshopper algorithms for specific tasks.
VIP simply adds several additional tools that may save you time. For commercial use, I do think purchasing a VIP key makes sense.
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Documentation: Video Instead of Manuals
Documentation is one of the challenges around any large collection of specialized tools. In Grasshopper Gold, information currently exists across tool interfaces, videos, Patreon, and community channels. Taras, however, is not convinced that creating a traditional PDF manual would be the right solution.
JewelModel:
Would you consider creating a complete, continuously updated manual with every tool, its purpose, and practical workflows?
Taras:
All UI-based tools already have a “?” button. Clicking it takes you to YouTube, where you can watch a video demonstration of that particular tool. I think that is much easier to understand than PDF documentation where you have to read about a process without actually seeing it happen.
For me, the better solution would be a complete video tutorial showing the creation of one product from beginning to end. It could start with the technical brief, continue through modeling, and finish with the final render and preparation of the STL file. That would show people not only what individual buttons do, but how the tools fit together in an actual jewelry production workflow.
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A Better Update System
Another area Taras wants to improve is software updating. At the moment, users may need to check Patreon or other project channels for new versions.
JewelModel:
Could Grasshopper Gold eventually check for new versions from inside Rhino?
Taras:
Technically, yes. I have been thinking about it for a long time. But many people are concerned about their data and privacy, so I do not want it to be completely automatic.
There will be a separate button for checking whether an update is available. Users will also be able to enable automatic update checking in the settings if they want it. The important distinction is that this would be optional rather than something silently running without the user's control.
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Will Grasshopper Gold Get Its Own Website?
JewelModel:
Do you plan to create a dedicated Grasshopper Gold website for downloads, subscriptions or licenses, documentation, and changelogs?
Taras:
I have thought about creating my own website, but it is not even in development yet. For now, Patreon remains the main platform. I think people may also feel more comfortable making payments and supporting the project through an established platform like Patreon.
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The Next Two or Three Years
Taras does not describe the future of Grasshopper Gold in the language of a startup trying to become a large software company. The plan is more pragmatic: improve the tools, move some algorithms into native code where it makes sense, add new capabilities, and continue keeping the product accessible.
JewelModel:
Where do you see Grasshopper Gold in two or three years?
Taras:
Grasshopper Gold probably will not become something dramatically larger than it is today. There will be more tools, and some of them will eventually be implemented directly in code rather than as Grasshopper algorithms.
There will be a simple Render tool and perhaps, eventually, WebRender. Tools for creating supports for 3D printing are also currently in development.
There will be more video tutorials as well. I do not see a major need for traditional documentation, except perhaps documentation structured in a way that could help an AI agent understand the system.
What I want is a complete product that still remains accessible to people. We will see where the story goes.
> “I want it to become a complete product while still remaining accessible to people.”
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A Jewelry Tool Built by a Jeweler
What makes Grasshopper Gold interesting is not simply the number of commands it contains. Its development reflects a particular path through jewelry technology: from working with metal by hand, to Matrix, to Rhino, to Grasshopper, scripting, and eventually building a specialized CAD toolkit.
That background also explains many of Taras Kydon's priorities. Performance matters because he works with projects containing thousands of stones. Compatibility between Mesh, Surface, and SubD matters because real production files are rarely confined to one ideal geometry type. Privacy matters enough that Grasshopper Gold does not collect tool-usage analytics. And automation is valuable, but only when it solves a real production problem rather than existing simply because it can be built.
Grasshopper Gold began as a collection of tools Taras needed himself. Its future appears likely to follow the same principle:
Build the tools that are useful. Make them faster. Keep the workflow practical. And keep them accessible to the jewelers who actually have to use them.
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Interview by JewelModel.
you can download the Grasshopper Gold here: https://www.food4rhino.com/en/app/grasshopper-gold