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| June Specials: $7 off orders over $150 |
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Lots Going
On ... We've added more of that hot new stone, Rainbow Calcite, as well as fossil jewelry and even some enameled silver. Check out all the new markdowns in our closeouts section! Also new this month is a whole collection of "masterpiece" jewelry. These items are silver earrings and pendants mostly, each with a commonly recognized artwork like the Mona Lisa or Botticelli's Venus, set behind clear resin. They are a new take on vintage and are already selling well. To brighten up the home for summer, we've added a light and breezy collection of textiles designed by a French couple living and manufacturing in India. Lots of cotton organza with lotus blossoms, and some rich looking polysilk fabrics mean there's something for everyone. Later this month, look for a whole slew of new textile products, including updated purses from Vietnam and some really nice home decor pieces from India. Silver is fluctuating between about $5.75 and $6 per oz., which is great compared to a couple of months ago. Looks like it will hold steady a this level for a while... Sad Saga
of Saris June Birthstone:
Pearl The real explanation for natural pearls is almost as interesting as the mythology. When an irritant, such as a grain of sand or a parasite, lodges in the flesh of a mollusk, a protective substance called "nacre" is produced. Over a period of years, layer upon layer of shimmering nacre coats the irritant, creating a lustrous pearl. Natural pearls are relatively rare, so a process was created where a piece of shell or a bead was placed inside a mollusk to stimulate the production of nacre. This results in a cultured pearl, which accounts for about 90 per cent of the pearl industry. Divers find natural pearls in The Persian Gulf as well as in the waters off Japan, the South Pacific Islands off northern Australia, and the coasts of Panama, Venezuela, and California. Most of the cultured pearl industry is in Japanese and Australian coastal waters. These gems come in a whole spectrum of colors, from pure white to pink, yellow, gray and black. They also come in wide variety of shapes and sizes. Pearls have been a passion of people throughout the ages. They have been ground up and used in cosmetics and as a medicine to treat heart and stomach conditions. They continue to be viewed as a mark of taste and refinement as well as a symbol of purity, and they are often given to celebrate a marriage or the birth of a child. Pearls are suitable for all ages, and elegantly worn with everything from jeans to an evening gown. There are two alternate birthstones for June. The first is Moonstone (we have a huge selection), a type of feldspar named because of its uncanny resemblance to the iridescent sheen of the moon. Mined in Sri Lanka, Brazil, India, Madagascar, and the United States, a gift of this stone is symbolic of health and longevity. The second alternate birthstone for June is the Alexandrite. A yellowish or brownish green in color, this gemstone changes color to a red hue when exposed to a glowing light source, such as candlelight. Because of this, it has been characterized as "an emerald by day, a ruby by night." Alexandrite is mined primarily in Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Burma, Madagascar and Tanzania. It is a rare and expensive gemstone, symbolic of joy and good fortune. Highlights
of the Site It's summertime: let's do some work, but have some fun, too! Aloha, Mike McGinnis |
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