Inspiration: Snow & Pearls

When it comes to jewelry, pearls have always been a long-standing classic, sometimes even accompanied by a bit of mystique. Walk through any legendary art museum and you’ll find portrait after portrait of intriguing women wearing pearls – necklaces, bracelets and earrings – sometimes just one pearl earring (talk about your mystique!) I have had a long time infatuation with all things pearl.

I was lucky enough to get my first pearl ring while I was in high school in the 60s. Today, the flat side of the single pearl on that ring stands as a good indicator of the frequent wearing all those years ago. On my wedding day in 1967, I was gifted a single strand of creamy white pearls from someone quite unexpected. Sorry, the details of that gift will remain my little secret…for the time being. She says with a wink! (How’s that for mystique?) I was thrilled to wear that necklace with pearl earrings – both, of which, complemented the seed pearls on my dress perfectly.

All these years later, my passion for pearls still exists. I pretty much use them in all of my designs. Sometimes the design is a “wow, look at these pearls” type; but, more times than not, it has a casual “oh, there are pearls in there” demeanor. It seems that brides still love pearls all these years later. Those who want something unique and unexpected go for my gemstones tossed with pearls looks. This kyanite and pearls necklace shown here had the good fortune to grace the neckline of a lovely bride at water’s edge in Newport, Rhode Island. While it was a beautiful look for the day, the bride has gone on to wear the necklace in her high-powered executive life and I am told it starts many conversations. (Do people still use the term high-powered?) That’s what I love to hear and see. It never made sense to me to buy something that can only be worn one time – so when designing, I keep in mind the variety of styles you can get from just one piece. And, of course, there is the CPW factor, as well. CPW? Yes, cost-per-wearing.

If you like pearls and unique gemstones tossed with unusual designs that you won’t see on other women, you might want to pop on over to the site/shop and take a little look around. There are lots of beauties over there to drool over. Stay tuned, as well. Since I am an indie designer, I really don’t design by season or collection, new pieces come out of the studio daily. So be sure to come back often and stay as long as you want!