Rosie has been BUSY!

While I was out sick, Rosie was working her little tail off up in her cabin studio. The results will be popping into ETSY over the next few days, but I think this is my favorite so far:

They are really gorgeous and funky at the same time.

Influenza A

So already I have a big absence from the blog. Our household was hit with an epidemic of Influenza A - even those who got the flu shot! As a result, anything that didn't include calming a fever, aches and pains and a cough got pushed to the side, including this blog. Gabriella, my daughter, also had Strep throat on top of the flu, so it has been a real blast.

We are now all starting to feel better, so back to blogging!

Let's start with a necklace...

This is the Emme Necklace - named that because I like that name.



This necklace is longer on purpose. It is made of Malachite and multi-colored Tourmaline beads. The Pendant is another Malachite bead followed by a trail of Tourmaline. The method is wire-wrap. I especially *love* the top Tourmaline bead that hangs from the pendant (it is the first one) because it has this great black spotting inside:


Here is something that I found very interesting:

"Black Tourmaline crystals inside of clear crystals. Balances and unites conscious with subconscious, male with female, spirit with matter, heaven with earth. Brings harmony to any polarity and brings moderation and unity to all situations."

That makes me love this necklace even more.

Welcome to the Beaucoup de Bijoux Blog!

Welcome to Beaucoup de Bijoux, the jewelry store, and labor of love, opened by my sister, Rose West, and myself, Stephanie Quintero. We are based out of Salt Lake City, Utah and both work out of studios within our homes. Our shop is on Etsy and is still new. I am quickly learning that a key to Etsy success is networking, networking, and more networking. To be honest, that was the original purpose of this blog as well. But, I have to admit that I love to write and am hoping that this blog will also become a labor of love too.

Some background - my sister started her jewelry making career in the parking lots of many a Dead show as a means to afford her next show. Thankfully, she has matured since then and as part of that endeavor she attended the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, California, eventually earning her Graduate Jeweler degree. She is an incredible artist and designer. Her resume includes working for fine jewelry establishments, teaching jewelry making for the University of Utah Division of Continuing Education, and creating custom design orders for her customers. She is currently learning Gem Vision CAD software design too.

So that brings it to me. I am a SAHM to 2 lovely little children, Gabriella (nearly 4) and Alejandro (nearly 1). To help support my lavish lifestyle (ha ha ha), I encouraged my sister to teach me how to make jewelry that I could sell to others to bring in some additional income. Little did I know how therapeutic this new hobby would become. I have come to crave my time to make jewelry - it has become not only a creative outlet, but also a meditative time to myself. Any mother can agree how rare and appreciated that time can be.

I will gradually begin updating this blog with pictures of our work, how it was made, what has sold and what has not, etc. I will also be including links to articles and websites that have made this journey a bit easier. I would LOVE feedback and constructive criticism to help make Beaucoup de Bijoux all that it can be. Of course compliments are welcome as well ; )