Blue Crush

Sometimes, as a jewelry designer, you get a set of beads that just rocks your world. You want to show them to everyone you know--Look at these! Can you believe these were hiding underground? Just look how preeeeeettttyyy!

I just got some bright blue Apatite that I want to show everyone. If they were edible, they'd be gone by now.


As soon as I got them, I sat down to make this Blue Crush Necklace, inspired by surfer girls and waves unfurling, all white foam with a bright blue core. You can see the listing here in my Etsy shop.

Lovely Lucite

Lipstick Red Vintage Lucite Oval Pendants

Ahhhh, Lucite. The Noble Plastic. Seriously, is there anything cooler than a sweet piece of untouched, vintage lucite? It's amazing to me that something made in the 60s and stored away in a warehouse ever since can look so incredibly modern and of-the-moment.

I've amassed a giant Lucite collection, so big that I've started to sell some of it to other designers in my second Etsy shop, LuluBeads.

This dynamic plastic is perfect for using in jewelry because it's lightweight, meaning you can make a big, dramatic statement without giving yourself a neckache or feeling like you're wearing weights for earrings. And the colors—amazing and varied.

Goodmorning Sunshine Earrings

And one of the most rewarding things about integrating vintage pieces of lucite into my work as a jewelry artist is the element of reuse: this lucite is decades old, and if current designers hadn't taken a shine to it, it would undoubtedly be in a landfill right now. And that's no place for something this pretty.