The Natural Beauty of Carina’s Creations

"Zillians" - Brazilian Tourmaline

Organic jewelry is commonly referred as jewelry made from once living organisms. For Carina Rossner it means using recycled silver and gold that rests in a natural state after being melted and teaming it with minerals and gems with minor enhancements. The results are one-of-a-kind objects of adornment made of irregular (organic) shapes and forms that exude a rugged beauty. 

"Pink Trio" - Colbalt Calcite

I first met Rossner, who operates under the name Carina’s Creations, early this month at the Gem & Jewelry Exchange show in Tucson, Ariz. I then saw her again just a few days ago at the Buyers Market of American Craft show in Philadelphia (more on that event in the coming days). She hadn’t seen her Palo Alto, Calif., home in weeks—a far different lifestyle for the Harvard graduate who had a successful Silicon Valley career.

"Ocean Storm" - Ocean Jasper

 She does all of the lapidary work and metalsmithing herself in her studios in Palo Alto and nearby Menlo Park. The self-claimed “rock hound” sources her gems and minerals from all over the world, looking for shapes and colors that will transcribe into the types of finished products that define her work. “I don’t use the most ‘precious’ of specimens, preferring instead those that illustrate the physical properties of the mineral or stone,” she said. She then shapes the material into wearable pieces by cutting, trimming, and polishing them.

She has five techniques of melting and creating her organically formed precious metals, which result in several shapes, such as irregular teardrops and wraps.

"Embers" - Spessarite

“The final step is to create a marriage between a particular specimen I have prepared and a silver vessel worthy of its natural beauty,” she said.

Most of the pieces end up as pendants and earrings, but she says she is expanding into brooches and wrist cuffs and is exploring other forms of wearable art.

"Spells" - Chaorite

'Have Jewelry, Will Travel'

"Tribal Goddess": A necklace made of hand-strung nylon with pearl shell dagger beads, transparent glass seed beads, shell seed beads, shell marquise beads, tumbled freshwater pearl beads, natural barrel shell beads and silver adjustable lobster-claw clasp. Bond’s inspiration for this piece was the jewelry worn by women of the Masaai tribe in Tanzania. 

In my introduction to this Web site I did promise that I would include the work of promising new jewelry designers. Now it’s time to back that statement.

Chelsea Bond has had an interesting life. She’s traveled extensively throughout the world, including spending more than three months circling the globe for Semester at Sea. Bond, recently married, is now settled in Dallas where she recreates her travel experiences by making hand-made exotic travel-inspired jewelry and selling them through a company she founded, [Red-I] by Chelsea, with the motto, "Have Jewelry, Will Travel."

"South Africa": A wooden cuff bracelet with a hand-painted acrylic design inspired by the vineyards and local marketplaces outside of Cape Town, South Africa.

“My influences and inspirations are every single trip I've taken around this amazing globe,” Bond recently told Jewelry News Network. “I've been privileged enough to view celebrations in India, swim in the Andaman sea and circle the earth on a ship. … The beauty of the earth and unforgettable circumstances all play a part in Red-I.”

She primarily uses organic materials—including stone, semi-precious gems, glass beads, suede, wooden beads and shells—to create her necklaces, bracelets, earrings, barefoot pieces, and other works. Each piece represents a place where she’s visited. 

“I love blending different textures such as the metal and suede to create a unique and sleek, yet still earthy and eclectic feel.”

Bond says those who buy her jewelry have a strong sense of individual style and an adventurous spirit.

“The type of person that buys my jewelry has a unique personality and a zest for life,” she said. “If they have not extensively traveled, they want to. The pieces speak to the places they have been or places they long to reach one day. My clients appreciate detail and craftsmanship and more importantly, want to be the center of attention.”

She adds, “I have a huge passion for this industry and hope to translate this through my own designs.”

She’s certainly on her way.

Additional captions:

"Andaman Coffee Shell and Ocean Glass": Barefoot Jewelry made of hand-strung stretch nylon with transparent glass seed beads, peacock ceramic globe beads, coffee ceramic shell bead and translucent aquamarine plastic gems that takes its inspiration from the turquoise water of the Andaman Sea and the “sugary” beaches and rocks of Kho Phi Phi island, Thailand.

"Azúcar y Mar (Sugar and Sea)": Hand-strung nylon with semi precious tumbled white agate stone beads, mother of pearl marquise pendants, glass seed beads, aquamarine plastic gems, blue shell beads plastic gems, glass seed beads and blue shell beads are the dominate materials for this necklace and earrings set, which takes its inspiration from the sandy beaches and the turquoise Caribbean waters of Riviera Maya, Mexico.

"Flamenco": Hand-strung nylon with turquoise howlite stone beads, coral howlite stone beads, transparent glass seed beads, peacock ceramic globe beads, and turquoise howlite ceramic barrel beads are the dominate materials use for this necklace, bracelet and earrings set, which takes inspiration from the flamenco shows she saw while living in Spain.