Posts Tagged ‘rose quartz’

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Recently, I’ve discovered some very talented artisans who are designing unique, one of a kind jewelry using natural gemstones, crystals, and geodes. I’ll be featuring interviews with them about their designs throughout the summer on the Bohemian Blog, as we focus on fashion that nourishes, harmonizes and enhances the body, mind and spirit.

First up we have Ginny O’Shea from New York. Her jewelry can be purchased on ArtFire.  Enjoy!

Kala: Hi Ginny, Thanks for doing this interview. I’m the proud and delighted owner of one of your beautiful pieces, a rose quartz necklace. What drew me to your work was your extensive use of natural stone work and gemstones in bold designs. How long have you been making jewelry and how did you get started?

Ginny: Hi Kala, I’ve been making jewelry for just about two years now. When I lost a bead to a pair of earrings that a friend had made for me, I went to the local craft store to find a replacement. Couldn’t find the exact bead, but what I did find was a whole new way for me to express myself through making jewelry. I bought a few tools and beads and that was it!

Kala: You mix a variety of gemstones together and the colors and dramatic designs are eye catching and make a statement. It’s what attracted me to them as I felt the energy in each piece and the confidence in the message it was trying to convey. How do you connect with the stones you work with and what is your process for creating each design?

Ginny: I start by purchasing gemstones that appeal to me. I tend to like a rustic chunky look for my necklaces. The stones just jump out at me and I have to have them! Sure, you can make a necklace to go with a specific outfit, but for the most part, I randomly lay the stones that I think will work together out on my work table. Then the colors and textures that belong together become clear to me. Those are the ones that get played around with until the design is decided upon. Eventually there’s always a necklace in my house that will go with any given outfit!

Kala: You’re also a musician. What commonalities have you found between music, art and design?

Ginny: That’s a great question Kala. I would say that when you create things that you like, the sense of accomplishment and joy is something that you want to experience again and again. It never gets old! So whether you sing a song, design a piece of jewelry, or decorate a room, you are expressing yourself in a unique way. There’s real satisfaction in that.. I’ve read that when the brain experiences anything new, whether it be a beautiful view, or new book, or even a new scent, it stimulates your whole being and lifts you to a state of enjoyment that fights depression. I really believe that’s true.

Kala: Do you accept custom orders? What has been your most favorite design of all to date?

Ginny: Oh yes definitely! My favorite piece to date would have to be this geode necklace.

I love when a necklace features one geode as a pendant, but this one has five! That’s five sparkly amazing miracles of nature glowing around your neck.

Geodes or Drusy is when a crystal formation occurs over time on a stone, and each one is beautifully unique.

Kala: Are there any limits to what can be used when making jewelry?

Ginny: I believe there are no limitations when it comes to designing jewelry. I can honestly walk into a hardware store and find a lot of possibilities! But I know my heart belongs to gemstones. They are each so unique and beautiful and earthy to the touch.

Kala: Looking at another one of your designs here, this is the rose quartz necklace that I fell in love with. Describe this for us… and how did you decide upon this layout?

Ginny: This design came from the stones themselves. The sugar candy looking Rose Quartz stones just spoke for themselves, leaving me to keep within a simple design. They are so soft and feminine and perfect. It’s Rose Quartz at it’s best.

Kala: You’ve followed your passions in life, from music to design. What advice would you give to other women who are thinking about following their passion and embarking on a new career?

Ginny: My advice would be, and it’s so simple, to quote Earl Nightengale, “just do your work”. That’s it! Do your thing. When you have a passion for something and do it day after day, something marvelous happens. Your positive energy comes back to you. It happened with my music, and I’m so excited to be in this place in my life. When you love what you do, it shows and people connect with that. Yes, it takes time, but all successes take time. Don’t look back, just do your work.

Kala: Do you have plans for expansion? I’ve seen jewelry and stones now being woven into bridal veils, clothing, purses and home decor. Where do you think your work will take you?

Ginny: I’ll go wherever this takes me! I don’t mind being challenged, because that’s what makes us grow. Right now I’m working on an instructional DVD about getting started making jewelry. I’d like to help people save time, money and hours of frustration that get wasted when you’re a beginner and you have no idea what a crimp bead is or what kind of stringing wire you’re supposed to use. It’s all very confusing!

Kala: This next piece here is most intriguing. Tell us about it…

Ginny: This is one of my favorites! The blue Lapis beads I knew needed a bold pendant. I found this slice of drusy Agate and knew they should go together. Then I added a second row of Lapis because I felt the size of the pendant required a more substantial row of beads.

Kala: Who is Ginny O’Shea, if you had to describe yourself in three sentences or less, or if a friend were to describe you, what would they say?

Ginny: Ginny O’Shea always sees the glass half full! I’m positive, hopeful and grateful for all the good things in my life. My daughter says, “Mommy always needs a project” I guess she’s right.

Kala: Beyond the jewelry, What inspires you?

Ginny: Songs written in minor chords
Spending time with my daughters and appreciating what truly caring, responsible and intelligent young woman they’ve turned out to be
Random acts of kindness
My husband’s huge heart that’s equally matched by his depth of integrity
Watching my two dogs greet guests at the door sporting , yes , doggy jewelry!!
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Ginny’s Bio: I grew up, one of seven children, on Long Island, NY. My mom was always doing creative activities from making our Halloween costumes to writing articles for the local newspaper! She set a great example for her kids to not be afraid to go for whatever you want to accomplish in life. I’m married to a wonderful man and have two grown daughters. I’ve been a singer/songwriter for 20 years, and am now enjoying this new adventure. I feel so blessed to find such joy every day in my craft. I’m honored to share my creations with all of you. Thank you!

Discover the artistic vision and jewelry of Ginny O’Shea on ArtFire

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Do you have a favorite crystal or gemstone? Do you ever find yourself drawn to certain crystals? Have you ever noticed if what you’re drawn to changes from time to time? If so you should listen to that little voice in your head.  You may start to notice that what you are drawn to or what you call your favorite changes during certain periods of your life.  You might want to pay attention to what calls to you now and learn a little about that particular stone- your higher self may be trying to tell you something.  To me it’s much like having a craving for a certain food.  I find that, more often than not, if my body is craving something then I’m probably lacking that something in my diet. The craving is my body’s way of telling me- “Hey, you’re body needs this, eat it now”.  It’s that same idea when you’re drawn to a particular stone. It’s your higher self’s way of saying- “Hey, you need this, spend some time with this stone”.

At this time in my own life I find that I am particularly drawn to rose quartz.  As a geologist I know that rose quartz is part of the silica dioxide family (along with amethyst, citrine, and Tiger’s Eye, among others).  I also know that it gets its beautiful pink color from small amounts of “impurities” like iron or manganese.  As a geologist, I have found that what we call the imperfections in a stone are what typically make it so beautiful.  And as a woman, I have found the same, that what we describe as our imperfections are actually what make us so beautiful and unique.

What I didn’t learn as a geologist (but learned much later through various means) is that rose quartz is the quintessential crystal of love.  It’s associated with the heart chakra and represents many types of love including romantic love, love for friends & family, love for humanity and, most importantly, self love.   If you find yourself drawn to this stone you may want to look around your life a little. Are you looking for love? Are you trying to heal a broken heart? Are you trying to learn to love yourself?

If you, like me, find yourself drawn to rose quartz I encourage you to find something either made with it or simply a crystal itself.  I have a beautiful tea light holder cut from a large rose quartz crystal that sits by my bed. It creates a warm and loving energy that is perfect to meditate by.  Heart shapes cut from rose quartz are also very popular and can help you connect to that heart chakra energy.  As I began to create my company, Serene Bath and Body, my vision was to create products that would take care of both the physical and spiritual body. Because I was so drawn to it, rose quartz was the first stone that I considered when choosing to embed stones into my products. Each stone is charged with love and the intent is that each time you bathe or apply the lotion, you are connecting with that loving energy from the rose quartz and covering not just your body, but your auric field with this loving intention.

Next time we’ll be talking about another personal favorite- Moonstone, the crystal of the Goddess energy. We’ll also start talking about how to properly prepare crystals before using them.

More About Niki Fountain….

Serene Bath & Body was the vision of its owner and founder, Niki Fountain. As a young woman, Ms. Fountain, like many girls her age, found herself with a poor body image and did not treat her body with the love and respect it deserved. Through the years she was able to overcome this and realized that everyone, especially young women, needed to learn to care for and respect their bodies. This eventually inspired Celestial Farms. The inspiration was one of creating products that would help young girls and women learn to love their bodies and treat them well by using high quality products that nourish the body, the mind, the spirit and the soul.  Ms. Fountain earned her Masters Degree in Hydrogeology and has a professional background in developing and perfecting soaps. She spent two years in a university laboratory as a hydrogeologist developing soap formulations to be used to “clean-up” chemicals that had been spilled into groundwater. She has been applying this experience and knowledge ever since while working in the environmental industry, cleaning up sites that have been contaminated with chemicals. She has since taken this knowledge and experience and applied it to developing and perfecting formulations of soaps for people. Additionally, being a geologist, she is intimately familiar with crystals and gemstones and both their physical and metaphysical properties. She uses this knowledge while creating new formulations that include various combinations of soaps/lotions with the appropriate crystals to obtain an array of desired outcomes (relaxation, invigoration, etc) More info at: www.theserenestore.com

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Even as a small child I loved to play with rocks. We had a big pile of them out behind our house that I would sit and play on for hours. I daydreamed about what I would do when I grew up. I even plotted my escape from that tiny town in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t realize it then but in all of those hours I spent on that rock pile, I was feeling and drawing on the energy of those stones.

Many years later I earned my Masters Degree in geology where I spent the majority of my days (and as a graduate student many a night) with rocks and minerals. As a geologist you are expected and required to know, in painstaking detail, a multitude of physical and chemical properties of rocks and minerals. While I enjoyed this on some level I knew my attraction to the field had to be deeper. Sure, it was interesting to know how different minerals formed; to understand how water moved below the earth’s surface so that we could access it for drinking purposes; to find fossils and consider the theory of evolution. But I knew for me there was more to it, a deeper calling.

One day, years later, I found myself standing in a bookstore reading a book on crystals and gemstones. To my surprise the book didn’t come from the science section of the store. This book was talking not about the physical properties of crystals gemstones but the metaphysical ones. It was then that I understood my calling to the field. It was important for me to have the science background, to understand the physical nature of rocks and minerals but to combine that with what I was learning about the metaphysical.

Since that day many years ago I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to take my knowledge and experience with both the physical and metaphysical properties of minerals and gemstones and apply that to a metaphysically-inspired bath products line called Celestial Farms (found at TheSereneStore.com) where crystals are actually added and embedded to all of the products.

Watch for upcoming guest blog entries on some of my favorite gemstones and their metaphysical properties, including which gemstones are best for certain situations and how to properly prepare them for use.
More About Niki Fountain….

Serene Bath & Body was the vision of its owner and founder, Niki Fountain. As a young woman, Ms. Fountain, like many girls her age, found herself with a poor body image and did not treat her body with the love and respect it deserved. Through the years she was able to overcome this and realized that everyone, especially young women, needed to learn to care for and respect their bodies. This eventually inspired Celestial Farms. The inspiration was one of creating products that would help young girls and women learn to love their bodies and treat them well by using high quality products that nourish the body, the mind, the spirit and the soul. Serene Bath & Body became an LLC in 2005. Ms. Fountain earned her Masters Degree in Hydrogeology and has a professional background in developing and perfecting soaps. She spent two years in a university laboratory as a hydrogeologist developing soap formulations to be used to “clean-up” chemicals that had been spilled into groundwater. She has been applying this experience and knowledge ever since while working in the environmental industry, cleaning up sites that have been contaminated with chemicals. She has since taken this knowledge and experience and applied it to developing and perfecting formulations of soaps for people. Additionally, being a geologist, she is intimately familiar with crystals and gemstones and both their physical and metaphysical properties. She uses this knowledge while creating new formulations that include various combinations of soaps/lotions with the appropriate crystals to obtain an array of desired outcomes (relaxation, invigoration, etc).

Watch for an upcoming interview with Niki on The Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show in February 2009.

More info at: www.theserenestore.com

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