Jewelry by Natural Glam

Hello, hello!

Today I have a great jewelry feature post for you!  Natural Glam is a store on Etsy with beautiful handmade jewelry by a very talented artist (and fellow bohemian soul, hehe) living in Los Angeles, California named Candice!  One day I was browsing Etsy when a pair of Candice's earrings (seen above) immediately caught my eye, such bohemian beauty!  When I clicked over to her store page I also noticed her wonderful motto, "Handmade Jewelry for the Goddess that Lives in Every Woman" (amen!) along with pages of gorgeous handmade pieces.

I fell in love with so many of her earrings that I ended up ordering five!  Yes, five!  I gave one pair to my cousin for her birthday, another pair to my mother and greedily kept the other three for myself, although my mother and I frequently share our jewelry so we get the best of both worlds!  Suffice it to say my cousin loved her pair, my mother adores hers and I have received lots of compliments on the other earrings whenever I wear them out.  Yes, as you will see they certainly have an attractive bohemian vibe!

I love my purchase from Natural Glam and I'm very excited to share this source with you, all of the pieces are stunning, unique and affordable!  I asked Candice for a bit of information about herself and what inspired her to make jewelry, here is what she had to say:

My name is Candice and I live in Los Angeles. I grew up in a household that was always bursting at the seems with creativity and I’ve always been surrounded by unique and talented individuals who encouraged me to do my own thing.

I have been creating jewelry for a few years now. I initially picked it up from my mom who has been creating jewelry for about fifteen years and who I now design a lot of pieces with…we are always in collaboration and I enjoy that very much.

In the beginning of 2010, part of my New Year’s resolution was to open up an online boutique to offer some of my wares; however it wasn’t until December of 2010 that I signed up on Etsy and listed my first item on New Year’s Eve 2011.

Right now 95% of my pieces are totally handcrafted and I work primarily with brass sheet metal. I like drawing my own designs with little or no computer aid (because I feel like it allows me to actually put my handprint on my work so to speak). Next, the pieces are hand cut, forged and usually hand textured for dimension - most pieces are then embellished. I try to use very little commercially made components when creating my jewelry.  The result is one of a kind jewelry - which symbolizes individuality - and a boho tribal chic look that is naturally glamorous.

If I had to describe my work I would have to say that it is a manifestation of a gift, blessing, and an honor coupled with a little faith (which I am always working to increase).  With that said, I strive to create jewelry that is meant to adorn the soul and to encourage self-love and acceptance. I believe that we should all have reverence for our individuality and uniqueness and the core things that make us who we are, be it cultural or spiritual….we are all innately special and we need to celebrate that as well as respect the right for others to be who they are.

Well I've gotta say, it seems like Candice and I have a lot in common when it comes to our outlook on life...  I'm a firm believer in respecting ones individuality and exploring all of the passions and interests that make me who I am.  Additionally, I believe it is very important to encourage others to do the same, which is why I formed Inspire Bohemia in the first place, especially in a time when there is so much media telling you who and what to like/admire/buy/etc.  Everyone should realize that honoring their individuality, personal style and interests is the key to a fulfilling life.   With that said - Candice, your creations are amazing and your vision is strong and meaningful, I have no doubt you will go far!  I wish you much success with your jewelry making and any endeavor you wish to pursue in this life.  Please let us know when you come out with new pieces as I would love to showcase them for my readers.

Don't forget to drop by Natural Glam and take a look at all of Candice's creations, there are lots more! I hope you all love this bohemian jewelry as much as I do!

Turquoise Crescent Pendulums
(hammered brass and Howlite Turquoise stones)

I love how Candice uses succulents as decorative props in many of her images! 

Cherry Jubilee Brass Shields
(hammered Golden Brass with cherry Agate gemstones)

Blue Nile Brass Shield Earrings
(hammered brass with Lapis stones)

Turquoise Spears
(hammered brass with Howlite Turquoise stones)

Moon Goddess
(hammered brass with cherry Agate gemstones)

Boho Hippie Brass Shields
(hammered brass with Howlite Turquoise stones)

Hand Forged Copper Prosperity Shields

Hand Forged Copper Shields

Goddess Cowrie Drops

Marrakesh Elephants

Queenly Tusks
(brass and Howlite Turquoise stones)

African Batik Bone Tusk Earrings

(All images in this post are property of Natural Glam and should not be reused or reproduced without her written consent.  Please visit Candi's Etsy store to contact her.)

Random jewelry storage ideas that I love.....

You know, as much as some people resent Martha Stewart for what she did, you've got to give the woman MAJOR credit for her ability to build such a massive creative brand! And, to be honest, I can only hope to be half as successful as her because come to think of it... I would love to create a design empire like hers! In the past I don't think I've flipped through her magazine more than twice, maybe (I'm more of an Elle Decor and Metropolitan Home gal)... but on the way to Europe my mom and I bought a few design magazines at the airport for the plane ride and let me tell you, Martha Stewart Living has beautiful images, ideas and recipes! Anyway, I perused her website for a while when I got back from my trip and I stumbled upon some ideas for creatively storing and displaying your jewelery - the images are beyond inspiring!

Over time, my jewelry starts to pile up and get wildly messy on my dresser. Currently I try to keep the majority of it in this awesome wooden box that is actually for Spinneybeck leather samples, but it always trickles out onto my dresser. When I worked for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Design Department as the Design Librarian I got to keep the box when we moved because they were going to throw it out, it's a great box, it has three drawers with magnetic closures and red leather pulls, removable wooden dividers and a red leather carrying handle on top... But as perfect as it is, I still have the issue of "out of sight out of mind," therefore I really like displaying as much of my jewelry as possible in creative ways OUTSIDE the box - so I can see it, all thus not forget about it and actually wear it! With that said, I like these ideas..... more projects for my list of projects... what else is new!? :)

Funny thing is, I have oodles of little ceramic bowls and dishes from Turkey, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy and all of the other fifteen or so European countries that I've been to so far! Now, if only I had one large drawer to do this and display them all neatly in.... hrmmmm...

This hanging shadow box display for jewelry is a DIY project using decorative wallpaper, hooks and a wooden wine/liquor crate, the instructions can be found under Stylish Jewelry Storage at Martha Stewart's website. I have two wine crates at home that I use to stack my DVD's and the boyfriend's PS3 games in, but lately I've been considering changing their purpose to this.... hehehehehe....

And last, this is not really a new concept to me, but I it's still one I love and have yet to replicate! So simple and so organic.... :)

Images via Stylish Jewelry Storage at Martha Stewart's website

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I want to show you ideas from other sources so I did a quick Google image search on creative jewelry displays and found these......

According to the blog All Things Austin Design, this was made from some random sticks found after a storm by artist Gadora Wilder, who reinvents old furniture and objects. Check out her blog Gadora Wilder: Refashioning Life's Furnishings.

This is a picture from Flickr ... the frame contains a piece of knitted fabric which acts as the base for which to hang earrings on.


From Red and Black's How to Make Creative Holiday Gifts here is framed chicken wire... voila, instant jewelry hanger!



From Design*Sponge comes this clever DIY idea to conceal your jewelry... I think it's so cool (with a nicer piece of art of course, harhar). Check out the full how-to instructions here.


Also from Design*Sponge is a DIY how-to guide on making a jewelry display bust... so if you don't have a real one like the one pictured in the Martha Stewart ideas above (first image in blog) then have at this project ladies!!!


This beautiful DIY jewelry display is from Lost Button Studio, it's so so pretty.... and how I wish I had an entire table to dedicate to my jewelry display!!
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And last but not least, for those of you that want something funky like the ideas above but don't want to make it yourself... I found a store on Etsy called Nishka's Niche that sells these and they look pretty cool: