Chakra Kahn

My new year started with a massage. (Not a bad way to start the year.) Then in that dreamy, blissful, post-massage, "open-to-the-universe" state I stared at a chakra poster on the wall of my friend's practice. Such beautiful Sanskrit symbols.
[Chakra is Sanskrit for “wheel”. It is a concept best described as centers of spiritual energy within the body. There are 7 major chakras. Each one has specific associations with certain elements, glands, colors, gemstones and physical and emotional disorders. Each one is also related to a personality trait, which can manifest in positiveor negative ways depending if it’s energy is balanced or imbalanced.]

I decided I wanted to make a chakra necklace for myself. I wondered if there were any great, silver chakra pendants out there. At home, I searched the internet, searched Etsy and many jewelry sites. I found nothing like the idea I had in mind. I researched, I read, I drew symbols again and again. I got REALLY into it. I just loved everything about this and it made me recall my love of crystals and my lil bag of chakra stones I carried as a teenager. I was so excited to make my necklace. I knew I wanted the root chakra, it has so many attributes that are important to me right now. I added 24k gold to the surface but left an oxidized rim of silver showing. It hangs from a strand of tiny garnet beads - the stone that "goes" with that chakra/color.

It is my new "everyday" necklace and it is a great reminder for me to exercise and take care of my body. I love the way the gold looks, it just glows. I added a tiny bit of gold on my signature on the back too.

I also like the fact that it's pure silver and pure gold touching my skin and meaningful stones surrounding my neck.

Before this I would wear a "J" pendant or my astrological sign pendant (I made both) but they just didn't do it for me. The "J" is just my initial from my name -and I didn't name myself and the astrological sign has to do with this external force, for me it's too abstract and I don't want to feel like something else dictates who I am. What I love about the chakras is it's something that comes from within. Energy, I can believe in energy and my energy and improving my energy. I like that it could always change, I'm not tied to one symbol, I could wear a different one depending on what I'm working to balance. It's this concept, this system that has existed for so long and it's connected to so many things. The importance of color, the meaning of these stones adds so much to it for me. So I made them all...

Then I had to come up with a name and (HELLO!) Chakra Kahn immediately came to mind. It's actually a name I thought of years ago for a line of jewelry but at that time it didn't occur to me to make chakra pendants. Now it REALLY fits. These pieces seem to truly resonate with my friends and customers. We are all seeking balance, we're all seeking meaning and beauty and something real. Many have felt very connected to specific chakras and many have had a hard time choosing, some even want a set of all 7 (workin' on a special set)!

I make each one by hand and they each have a cracking/natural edge which looks great and very old and rustic. They are so light and comfortable to wear and they layer so well with other necklaces. I'm also making them available on cord, on sterling chain, and as single pendants.

You can read about the meaning of each individual pendant in my Etsy shop.
I will also be selling them through yoga studios. More on that soon...

Mom's Present

Today is my mom's Birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! She has a lot of jewelry from me. A lot. Definitely the biggest collection and it spans more than a decade of designs. Which makes sense, she is my mom and she has helped me to become the jewelry artist I am today. You can thank my mom for the smaller size of every pair of earrings I make. They happen because she likes the pair I wear and says "I want those... but smaller". Years ago she asked me to make her a silver watch. I bought the only sterling watch face I could find on Ebay. A lovely Ecclissi (which I knew about from Celie). I also purchased a box clasp and I made the rest out of PMC+. It is covered in ancient scripts and the inside texture is all music notes.

It came out great (bad picture though) and she wears it often. Since she has nearly one of everything of mine and the watch, it's hard to come up with new gift ideas for her.
She always enjoys getting my newest creations but tailored to her style. So for one of her gifts, I thought of my new Wrapture line but knew she wouldn't be interested in a boot wrap or arm wrap - a little too Bohemian. I wracked my brain trying to come up with something she'd use often and carry with her in her bag that I could make and "Wrapturize". Then it hit me... a glasses case.

So I made a leather and silk and fabric case for her eye glasses. Luckily it just works out that an eye glass case is just about the same size as a bracelet! So I made the bracelet the decoration on the case. It can attach and detach easily.

The bracelet has gold, silver and garnet sewn to it with fuschia thread.



Both sides are decorated the same so when the bracelet is detached, the case is still pretty. It doesn't seem lacking but when the bracelet is attached it's extra special. I love making things transform! She loves the 2-in-1 and she just told me she needed a new case so it worked out perfectly.

I liked it so much I just had to share it.
More Wrapture coming soon.