Jewelry Navigator

Last week, on Jewelry Navigator Podcast, “Here's to the Men in Our Lives - Jewelry to Celebrate Men and Dads”, I featured jewelry for men, and Tin Haus was featured with the Andromeda ring. Christina Grace, founder of Tin Haus, is a Graduate Jeweler from GIA, an artist, and currently completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. What inspires me the most about Christina is the unhindered path she creates for yourself. When we tap into the stillness of our souls with courage and sincerity...

Men tend to get overlooked with jewelry - Watches and wedding bands are the staples for most men, while signet, diamond and gemstone statement rings as signature statements. Educating consumers with unique selections of gemstones and jewelry has always been a primary focus for Jewelry Navigator. In this Jewelry Navigator Podcast episode, I'm highlighting designers who've been featured on the podcast, as well as one who will be very soon with jewelry designed to enhance and celebrate the...

This is a brief episode today. I didn't include my normal introduction, so if this is your first episode, welcome. To understand what my platform is, please listen to any other episode, and you'll understand. After feeling paralyzed, not knowing how to move forward with the current chaos, I felt it appropriate to encourage my listeners, and everyone, to ask questions. Questions of how to move forward with compassion and understanding. Questions of what to do next, and how to help....

Missy Graff Ballone of Wellness for Makers Shares How Artists Can Move to Stay Healthy While the COVID-19 crisis and resulting quarantine have challenged many aspects of our lives, finding positive ways to guide us through to the other side have been inspiring. While scrolling through Instagram one day, I came across Missy Graff Ballone’s feed, Wellness for Makers. A metalsmith, alignment based yoga instructor, and licensed massage therapist, Missy shares how makers can work more...

I hope you’re staying safe and well, and I’m looking forward to when we can return to our places of work, get our hair cut, nails done, and get back to all those services and shops that are part of regular routines. Part of the normal routine this time of year is shopping for the seasonal celebrations, like Mother’s Day and graduations. But, shopping from our favorite stores doesn’t have to stop. This podcast is dedicated to all the small businesses who’ve been doing what they can to...

My guest in this Jewelry Navigator Podcast episode is Alain Simic, founder of Alain Simic (pronounced Ah-lawn Si-mich) whose specialty is portraying images of jewelry, fashion, fine art, and portraiture. Alain’s photography speaks through images, allowing his subject’s voice to share stories and impact the lives of those who see his work. Alain serves his clients and collaborates with his professional community through a unique background based on his perspective gained through...

This weekend, I chose to share segments of my podcast interview with Seraphima McLean of Gallery Byzantium. . Her formal background in art history, cast her in the unique role to carry on her family’s Byzantine art jewelry business. Gallery Byzantium integrates art and history inspired by one of the most influential cultures, the Byzantine Empire. Creating Christian themed jewelry, like crosses and religious medals, their jewelry designs are often replicated from ancient coins,...

Karin Jacobson is a talented jeweler and artist whose open mind and fabrication techniques allows her to interpret visions into beautiful, wearable jewelry art. Her journey and aesthetic have revealed a unique style that has become unquestionably recognizable as Karin Jacobson Jewelry. I’ve been a fan of her jewelry for a few years now, and the evolution of her aesthetic has been a joy to watch. Karin’s stand-out signature aesthetics are hybrid origami halos that bloom from ring wraps,...

Coping With the COVID-19 Crisis Using Self-Care Strategies With Dr. Dana Busch Stress. Anxiety. Uncertainty. These are all dark places that become natural responses to stressful and uncertain times, like the COVID-19 health crisis we’re currently experiencing. The reason for this podcast is to invite you to take a step back and use internal cognitive tools and rational thought processes to view this time as opportunity, and how to disarm stress and anxiety. Today, I’m joined by...

As we wrap up Women’s History Month in a couple days, today, I share my visit with Noor Shamma, jewelry designer, single mother, and driven career woman. Noor is the epitome of self motivation and drive. She gracefully achieves balance and peace through her persona, jewelry designs, and practices compassion through it all with sustainable practices in the sources she chooses for her jewelry. While managing a full time career in marketing and communications with motherhood, Noor stays...

Welcome back to Jewelry Navigator Podcast! It's been a few weeks since I last published a podcast episode and the last one was the pre-departure for my Tucson trip and that was in February. We're rolling into the second week of March, and I wanted to catch you up on what and who I saw in Tucson. You can follow along with my Instagram feed as I’ve posted support content that will coordinate with the podcast. Another thing I want to mention that I'm creating, I'm really excited...

Gem Show Pre-Departure Lounge 2020 Welcome to the first Jewelry Navigator Podcast episode of 2020! It’s been a while since you heard from me. I took some time off during the holidays, and now that everyone’s settled back into school and work, it’s time to get down to jewelry business! Trade shows have been centralized events for various industries to learn about and share the latest resources, network, and celebrate. The Tucson Gem Show just kicked the jewelry industry trade...

Sue Oster is the fearless force behind Feral Jewelry. She shares an interpretation of life’s strength and vulnerabilities using her signature collections created with sustainable and ethically sourced precious materials, combining design elements to celebrate who we are and what makes us unique. She IS the Elegant Rebel, and her MO of highlighting anomalies and unexpected elements are the thread with which she shares her creative vision and inspirations, defined by her philosophy of, “If a...

As a boy, Stephen Goldsmith had dreams of being a cartoonist. His aptitude for art was innate, but his journey would take a detour to become a master of polishing and finishing national treasures and museum quality jewelry. Stephen Goldsmith is a Fellow of the Institute of Professional Goldsmiths, and shares his nearly 50 years of knowledge and experience as a master polisher with peers and students alike through his trade acclaimed book, Polishing and Finishing for Jewellers and...

Jewelry is a powerful touchstone and conduit by which we define ourselves within our life stories, family, and community. Acknowledging this concept with symbolism and icons are reminders that we're connected to a higher power that guides us in how we choose to live our best lives. This week my guest on Jewelry Navigator podcast is Seraphima McLean of Gallery Byzantium, a small jewelry design and manufacturing business in Ipswich, Massachusetts, dedicated to conserving and sharing the...

Clarity, insight, and wisdom are three qualities I feel this week’s Jewelry Navigator Podcast guest exhibits naturally. Tonya Powell is founder and creative initiator of Pareure, a collection of jewelry designed for women who define themselves with confidence, and reach beyond limitations. Her classically simple signature circular designs are the embodiment of her tagline, “Be Seen. Be Heard, Be Bold”. I’m excited to share Tonya’s story on this week’s Jewelry Navigator Podcast episode,...

Telling stories with gems and jewelry is like speaking an enchanted language. Hidden for millennia, gems are treasures that speak a universal language. Cynthia Renée Marcusson is my guest this week understands the hidden language of gemstones. Geologist turned jewelry designer, Cynthia’s adventures began with her curiosity of rock formations and unusual terrain from the car window of her family vacations. As part of her geologic studies, she mapped two of the biggest gem producing mines...

Before departing for a creative career in jewelry design, Dana Busch enjoyed a professional career as a doctor in clinical health psychology. After completing a masters program in art therapy, she chose to focus on public health, and spent her career in medical centers creating programs focusing on lifestyle choices for patients with chronic conditions. While she enjoyed helping her patients with programs she developed, she left the corporate politics and bureaucracy behind to reinvent her...

Some people keep away from wearing opals, believing the ancient rumor that they cast bad luck on anyone who wears one without it being their birthstone. No one is certain where opal obtained its bad reputation, but in today’s Jewelry Navigator Podcast, I’m replaying last Halloween’s podcast, “The Not So Scary Truth About Opals With Matt Hopkins, of Hopkins Opal”. . I’ll be back next week with a brand new Jewelry Navigator Episode, featuring Dana Busch of Dana Busch Designs. . DON’T...

Emma Hoekstra is my guest this week on Jewelry Navigator Podcast. Founder of Emma Elizabeth Jewelry, and winner of this year’s Halstead Grant, it seems everything is going well for her. While we hope joy and celebration prevail in our lives, loss, grief, healing, and discovery remain unavoidable to the human experience. After the loss of her boyfriend in a tragic car accident, Emma reclaimed her joy and purpose through a process of healing through jewelry design, which eventually...