Stamp of approval: talented indie jewelry designers

I’m an accessories girl. Always have been. As much as I like clothes, it’s shoes, and bags, and the “little things” that I love. You can have the best outfit, or the simplest one, it doesn’t matter: accessories are what will make it or break it.

Jewelry has long been women’s accessory of choice – before there were “it” bags, and when shoes were hidden under long dresses, it was jewelry that stole the show, and it was jewelry that was chosen to make a special outfit even more special.

That said, I’m not much for traditional jewelry. I tend to prefer pieces that have something about them, an interesting detail, or a special meaning. Which means that I often look to indie designers for my jewelry pieces. In the past year or so, I’ve had the chance to find and wear some really wonderful designs, things that feel and look special enough for me to want to wear them regularly, but also affordable enough for me to consider buying them

I already told you about TenThings and my love affair with Etsy. Now let me share with you a few more wonderful jewelry lines from talented independent designers.

Kahili Creations jewelry pieces are delicate, almost ethereal, and they feature precious and semi-precious stones. Marcia, the artist behind Kahili creations, is a former city girl now working as a jewelry artisan from her home in rural Hawaii. Her designs are inspired by her surroundings, and she manages to capture them well in her creations, with gemstones in gorgeous colors, or simple chains with delicate pendants – like the silver necklace with 3 moss amethyst rondelles, perfect to add a girly touch to a simple outfit of jeans and a tee.

Marcia’s line includes necklaces, earrings and bracelets of different styles, but all with the characteristic feather-light quality that makes her line so special.

Kahili Creations jewelry can be found on Etsy, with prices ranging from 13 to 150 dollars. My favorite piece? Probably the Noelani earrings, which have a most fitting name (I’m a big fan of amethyst!) or the skinny bangle with quarz and crystal pendants – I’d wear a 3 of them on the same arm, to wake up a simple outfit, or add one last touch to one that’s almost complete (you know you’ve had those )

Robyn Rhodes has been designing jewelry for over 7 years. Her jewelry is boho with a modern touch, and very wearable. It’s one of the best-kept secrets in Hollywood, with pieces being worn by many actresses, including Jessica Alba, Eva Longoria-Parker and Scarlett Johansson. Currently, her line can be seen on the entire new season of HBO’s Entourage.

That isn’t, however, what I found attractive about the line. The clean lines, statement pieces that were gorgeous and special enough to be the only accessory worn with an outfit, but not overly done or too “in your face” were what I really loved about Robyn’s collection. And the fact that you can customize many of the items, picking the metal and stones you prefer, or a combination of stones or pendants.

I have the Deanna earrings in Gold and Amethyst (of course) and they are perfection. I also have a couple more things from Robyn’s collection on my wish list, starting with the Laurie necklace, and including the new Renata necklace – I love layered necklaces, they are a no-brainer fabulous accessory!

All of Robyn’s line can be viewed at www.robynrhodes.com. There are many tempting things there, and here’s an additional bit of temptation: you can get 20% off your entire order by using coupon code HIPMOM at checkout!

Satya jewelry is described by the designer as “yoga-inspired”, and you can immediately see why: along with the stones, chosen in specific combination based on their meaning, the pieces feature many yoga symbols, like the om symbol, the lotus flower, or the hamsa. In the past year, Satya has added other symbols of spirituality to their pieces, like the star of David, the cross, the Buddha. There is something about wearing a beautiful piece that is also inspiring, that just adds a very special, meaningful touch.

I adore this line. I have loved it since I first found it, at the first Here Comes the Sun yoga festival in NYC.  One of the speakers was wearing a triple-pendant necklace, and I had to find out where it was from! Now I own two of the triple-pendant necklaces, one in gold with a ruby drop, Lotus flower and Om symbol, and the other in silver, with a Hamsa, peace sign and an amethyst drop. I also have a freshwater pearl stretch bracelet with a gold lotus flower charm, that goes with absolutely everything. I wear one of the necklaces all the time, and just switch one for the other from time to time – with jeans and flats or a dress and heels, I wear it alone or layered with other necklaces, or just add a bangle and I’m ready to go – I love how versatile they are.

I’m almost ready to add more Satya pieces to my collection… I wonder if I should start with one or two more stretch bracelets, like the Amethyst (Lotus charm), or the Onyx one (Om charm)? Or maybe go back to my first love and get one more triple pendant necklace, like the gold with amethyst one, with the Hamsa and Om pendants? (And if you are my husband and are reading this post: the necklace, love, definitely the necklace.)

Another cool thing about Satya: they have designed special pieces exclusively for charity. When you purchase the Tree of Life necklace or one of the pieces from the Butterfly collection, 100% of the purchase price goes to HousingWorks and the Epidermiosis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation, respectively. Jewelry with a meaning, indeed.

Disclosure: I have received a piece of my choice from the Robyn Rhodes collection and Kahili Creations to wear to BlogHer. This may be considered a partially sponsored post, but I have been true and honest in expressing my opinions – I only ever wear things I really love. If you feel you need clarification, please refer to the info on my Contact page.

Tagged as: oooh, sparkly things!