Finding beautiful vegan jewelry is a rare pleasure, no doubt. But a website entirely devoted to selling vegan jewelry created by a mother and her nine-year-old daughter is truly a one-of-a-kind gem.
Artist Caroline Jones and her daughter, Eliza, create jewelry sold exclusively at www.veganjewelry.com. Their earrings, necklaces, bracelets and meditation beads are simple yet striking, spiritual, and vegan-conscious.
"I love the idea of a thoughtful, well-made, natural, warm, energy-filled string of gemstones as a physical bridge to our spiritual nature," says Jones.
Caroline, 42, started to make jewelry about four years ago as yet another outlet for her artistic personality (learn more about her artwork at www.tobogganhill.com/caroline). After she noticed the trend in popularity of puka shell-type necklaces, she decided to try her hand at making similar non-shell vegan versions. Out of that arose choker necklaces out of heishe gemstones. The website now carries a variety of designs and materials. Jones' computer-whiz husband, Brett, created the website, and daughter, Eliza, who is homeschooled, soon began making jewelry as well.
Jones says Eliza is having a wonderful time making and selling her own creations.
"We are a very close family, and she likes to be involved in whatever I do," says Jones. "When she first started, she used my tools and beads, and I had to do some of the more difficult wire twisting, etc. Now she has her own beads, tools, and bead board and is creating all on her own...this is a great learning experience for her in many different ways."
Alongside the heishe and other necklaces, vegan jewelry lovers will find beaded bracelets, slide bracelets, sea glass earrings, chakra bracelets, prayer beads, and even a vegan rosary with animal-shaped beads for animal lovers who practice the rosary. Eliza's vegan jewelry creations can be found in her own special section on the site entitled "Eliza's Stuff" and include some child-size pieces and fun items such as a climbing cat pin. Prices on the site range from $6 for a pair of earrings to $30 for some necklaces, with the rosary priced at $35.
Much of what Caroline and Eliza create is inspired by nature. Browsing the site, one finds many items made of blue and green beadwork - perfect color choices for jewelry that compliments nearly anything one might wear.
The spiritual and natural pieces sit alongside some fun and kitschy creations, perfect for gifts or personal statements about a devotion to the stuff of everyday life, such as coffee earrings for coffee lovers. Jones says she likes the "whimsy" of her coffee bean earrings or sushi earrings.
Jones, her husband and Eliza live on a farm near Fairfield, Pa., which they share with a vast array of beloved animals, including a pig appropriately named Jewely. Besides her art and jewelry, Caroline works as a speech therapist by day and is a homeschooling parent and artist. She says the vegan lifestyle is "woven tightly" into the fabric of her family's life. Since vegan families in their rural area of Pennsylvania are few and far between, she hopes the website will help "lead us to make some meaningful connections in the wider vegan community."
"Though I am not an evangelical vegan, I won't hesitate to attempt to influence anyone who expresses an interest in veganism - through my website or anywhere else," says Jones.
For more information visit www.veganjewelry.com
