Local Artist Market @ Whole Foods

I'm so excited! I will be participating in my first Whole Foods' Local Artist Market this Saturday, April 2, 2011 from 11am to 4pm in Santa Barbara. This will be my first time selling my jewelry at a public event. I just got the ok today, so I have so much to do to prepare. I'm crossing my fingers for good weather - the high today was 85! Wish me luck!

Whole Foods Market

3761 State Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93105

**UPDATE**
Pictures from the event!

My little display. I'm looking forward to May's event, so hopefully I'll be able to acquire some props and hanging displays by then!

Rave in the Cave

I studied abroad in New Zealand my first semester of my junior year of college. It seemed like a safe place (more my mother's concerns than my own), and I didn't have to learn another language. I picked the University of Otago in Dunedin.

Dunedin is on the very southernmost part of the South Island. It's quite a lovely city. Actually, New Zealand in general is a breath-taking place to be. 

Fall 2008 

Tunnel Beach

Dunedin, New Zealand

It was actually going from winter into spring at the time I was in NZ (their seasons are opposite that of North America). One weekend my friends and I planned to go to Long Beach to spend the night in this massive cave we found a few weeks back. We thought it was going to be the same like last time - just a handful friends, a campfire, some tents, the usual deal. Nope! It turned out to be quite the gathering.

I don't even know how many people made it out to Long Beach that night. At least one hundred? Maybe more? Who knows, I could be exaggerating. There was a huge bonfire lighting up a good portion of the cavern, camping tents set up along the walls of the cave and along the beach... Somehow five kegs appeared (classy, right?). Someone drove their van all the way along the beach, parked it inside the cave, popped out large speakers, and pumpped out music all night long. And to top it all off, fire dancers showed up. Fire dancers. Blogger refuses to let me upload the picture of fire dancers in action. You'll just have to use your imagination. Nonetheless I have to admit, it was quite the night.

* * * * *

Back to 2011, I excitedly finished my most recent necklace only to be stumped about what to name it. It's quite a stunning statement piece and it needed a fabulous name to go with it. I proudly showed my boyfriend my close up shots of the druzy agate slices and he immediately suggested "Rave in the Cave." I loved it.

Sea Blue - Rave in the Cave Luxe Necklace

SHOP

Sea Green - Rave in the Cave Luxe Necklace

SHOP

Enjoy!

Fuss Jewelry

I stumbled upon Fuss Jewelry on Etsy a few weeks ago, and I am in LOVE with these earrings.

They are absolutely stunning!

Fuss Jewelry

"Endless Cascade Earrings in Aqua Blues and Greens"

These 4" long vermeil earrings are covered in bright teal blue apatite, turquoise, chalcedony, vesuvianite and green gold quartz. They are long, dramatic, yet delicate at the same time. I adore how these earrings cascade down and how beautifully the colors pair with gold.

What ocean (and jewelry) lover wouldn't want a pair of these?? I really can't stop looking at them.  They have my name written all over it.

This particular piece has been inspiring me to continue making jewelry. I hope to design jewelry like this one day, even if it's only one pair and for myself (: I am in awe of how beautifully they cascade, her color and stone choices, and her photography.

If you adore flowers, other items in her Etsy shop might pique your interest as well.

Lo'ihi

I distinctly remember first hearing about the little underwater volcano, Lo’ihi, when I was in kindergarten. We were learning about the Hawaiian island chain and how islands are formed. My kindergarten teacher told us that a new island could potentially be forming off the south-eastern of coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. She told us that it would be thousands of years before any landmass broke the surface of the Pacific Ocean, but I was captivated by this possibility. A whole new island? An underwater volcano?? I tried to wrap my little kindergarten mind around this concept. I couldn’t believe it, but I was very excited… excited enough for me to remember that moment years from that day.

Lo’ihi is the youngest active volcano in the Hawaiian island chain. Its name means “long” in Hawaiian, describing its elongated shape. It was once thought to be a just an old, dead seamount, but is now seen as a bubbling active volcano 3,180 feet below the surface of the ocean.

Lo'ihi Earrings

 

The “Lo’ihi Earrings” have been inspired by this oceanic activity. Not only do these earrings feature long, elegant 14k gold filled earwires, which is fitting for its Hawaiian meaning, but they are also accompanied by red magma Swarovski crystal starfish, representing the volcanic activity spewing from the seamount. Small freshwater pearls sway alongside the starfish. 

These earrings are fun, fiery, and unique. I love how simple they are and how they were inspired. Even though I didn't grow up on the Big Island, they bring me back home.


 If you're interested, these earrings are currently available for sale on Etsy.

Follow this link to my Etsy Shop! * Lo'ihi Earrings *

Etsy Shop

I'm so excited to announce that I finally opened a shop on Etsy! As of February 21, 2011, I have items up for sale. I've been so busy listing my pieces up for sale that I haven't had a chance to blog about it yet!

http://www.theglisteningpearl.etsy.com

For those of you who don't know about Etsy, it is a huge online community of sellers and buyers for handmade goods, vintage items, and supplies! There are so many unique and one of a kind things available on Etsy. Of course, I spend hours browsing the jewelry category. There are so many talented artisans on Etsy, and this is the perfect place to stumble upon them.

Etsy has been around for a while, and I've been dying to open a shop for over a year now. However, I finally felt like I was ready to take this step - the right time for me, the right time for my jewelry.

Anyway, I just wanted to post a quick update (: Off to edit more jewelry pictures and post them to Etsy!

November 2010

Carpenteria, California