When a bride has a metal allergy…

When I got married 16 years ago, earrings for sensitive ears and necklaces for sensitive skin were hard to find. But today’s brides are lucky! Allergy-free wedding jewelry is accessible, affordable and as lovely as any girl could hope for.

I love making custom wedding jewelry! By the time a bride contacts me, she has already been planning her wedding for months, and her imagination is full of sparkles and dreams. So our discussions to plan her wedding jewelry are creative and fun!

As the 2016 wedding season approaches, I thought I’d share some photos from some of my recent custom wedding jewelry orders. Both of these brides had ordered titanium earrings or niobium earrings from Variya in the past, and I was honored they contacted me to create their wedding jewelry. Mira and Brittany were a pleasure to work with, and looked radiant in their custom bridal jewelry.

Mira has a metal allergy and had given up on wearing earrings after a bad experience in high school. But her mom, who also has sensitive ears, has had success wearing titanium earrings from Variya. So Mira decided to give us a try too. I’m so glad she did! She is a lovely customer and I was delighted with her on her custom designs. She looked stunning in her custom earrings and necklace made from Swarovski crystals and pearls.    

photo credit: Sean Cook

The pearls shone and crystals glittered on Mira's titanium earrings.    

Mira's necklace was made of glass pearls and a vintage style brooch.

Brittany has been a fabulous customer for many years, I was ecstatic when she contacted me for custom jewelry for her big day. We worked through a couple design ideas and the result were titanium earrings that made such a statement, she didn’t need any other jewelry! (If you click on the photo, it will open a bigger image so you can get a closer look.) 

 

photo credit: Erin Palmer

Brittany wanted a beautiful and subtle pop of blue to accent these lovely earrings

photo credit: Erin Palmer

Thank you to these lovely brides for sharing these stunning photos here. I'm honored that they chose Variya for their wedding day!

What's Happening Today: Custom Designed Necklace

This beautiful custom necklace was finished up and packaged as a very special birthday gift today.

While it's not the usual fare of earrings for sensitive ears that you read about here, the wearer-to-be does have skin that is sensitive to sterling silver, so this necklace is composed of natural brass.

What is most fun about this lovely necklace and what I just LOVE about doing custom work is the special meaning behind every custom piece. The significance of this piece is the gems: garnet, amethyst, pearl and rose quartz, and not in the way that you would probably first guess. 

Did you guess birthstones? Nope. 

This custom necklace was made for fans of the show Steven Universe! Gems are a big part of the story line, so I'm thinking it's probably I could get excited about!

I think this is such a creative and thoughtful gift. I did not know a thing about the show until I was commissioned to do this piece and although I still have yet to see it, I read a little about it and it's pretty interesting and creative. Here is a quick excerpt explanation:

 "It is the coming-of-age story of a young boy named Steven, who grows up in the town of Beach City while living with three magical humanoid aliens, the "Crystal Gems" Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. Steven, who is half-Gem, goes on adventures with his friends and helps the Gems protect the world from their own kind."- Wikipedia

Rose Quartz has a place somewhere in there too, but I haven't figured out where yet. Now I might have a new show to follow and I'm sure my son will be delighted to join me!

In the meantime, I had better get back to work on my titanium and niobium earrings orders for my wonderful customers with sensitive earlobes! Please feel free to contact me any time with a custom order request - I love working with my customers to come up with unique and meaningful designs!

12 Days of Variya Jewelry

Cue the trumpets! Tune the fiddles! "The 12 Days of Variya Jewelry" is about to begin...

ONE lucky winner.

Share a snapshot of your Variya jewelry on your social media venue of choice tagged #ilovevariyajewelry and you’ll be entered to win a free gift.

TWO happy earlobes.

My metal allergies were so severe I was reacting to my own wedding ring! I’d given up hope on ever wearing earrings again … until I discovered that my sensitive ears were happy with pure titanium. No more infections, no more itching, no more naked earlobes. I’ve been making titanium earrings I can wear since 2008, and my earlobes are so happy. (Yours will be, too!)

THREE sets of gemstones.

When you order these chic titanium or niobium hoops, you get your choice of three gemstone dangle drops. These classic hoops are meticulously hand filed at the ends for smooth edges and utmost comfort for your sensitive ears. Many of my customers tell me these are their go-to earrings for everyday wear.

FOUR fun shapes for your interchangeable hooks.

You can make almost any earring work for your sensitive ears. Mix and match from my interchangeable dangles or hang your own dangles from these pure titanium or niobium earring hooks.

FIVE(ish) dollars in your pocket.

Tis the season for free shipping! Shipping’s on me for anything you order from my Etsy shop, including custom wedding jewelry. So you'll have pretty earrings in your ears and extra money in your pocket. Merry Christmas!

SIX years on Etsy.

I opened my Etsy shop in 2009. Six years and over two thousand sales later, I still love making jewelry! I never get tired of hearing my customers tell me how they're so happy to finally be able to wear earrings once again.

SEVEN days till your order ships.

Seven days is the max you’ll have to wait from when you place your order till I send it your way, with free shipping,  tucked inside a pretty box. If it’s a smaller order, like a pair of these classic stud earrings (perfect for recovering from allergic reactions, by the way), I can usually ship within just a few days. So if you’re considering ordering jewelry for a Christmas gift, order soon and you’ll get your goodies with plenty of time to spare.

EIGHT million sparkles.

You will love the way these gorgeous druzy agate drops go from silvery grey to shimmery white. They’ll look exquisite under the lights of a holiday party. These are limited edition so get them before someone else does!
 

NINE years old.

My sweet niece just got her ears pierced, and rather than jamming cheap metals or alloys into those young lobes, she’s wearing pure grade one titanium that won’t cause an allergic reaction. Such a lucky princess.

TEN ... a perfect ten.

That’s you when you show up at a holiday party adorned in elegant Variya dangle earrings. Many of my customers have told me they’re thrilled to be able to wear dangles again. I know how they feel.

ELEVEN. 

The year David Guetta’s song “Titanium” was released (2011) and the average number of days it remains stuck in my head after I accidentally hear it on the radio. Nothing against the song, but I prefer my type of titanium. Pure, grade one. Pliable, yet durable. The answer to the cry of millions of sensitive ears! Check out this post to see what’s so great about titanium.

TWELVE pretty birthstones. 

For your custom birthstone jewelry, of course. And if you’ve never liked your traditional birthstone, don’t worry! There are alternates. My August baby friend who has always disliked the pale green peridot was thrilled to learn her alternate birthstone is sapphire. Contact me if you're curious about your alternate birthstone. I'll send you a chart to drool over. 

Saturday - Special Deals all Weekend

I'm having so much fun with special deals this weekend! Today is small business Saturday. I'm celebrating with a $5.00 coupon with any order - perfect for gifting jewelry to someone you love and getting a little cash back for your next order! Shop small biz today and try my titanium collection, my niobium collection or a lovely necklace or bracelet! Today is a great deal - don't miss it!

Stay tuned for the upcoming deals at Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!

Special Deals All Weekend at Variya

Black Friday is Coming Soon!

Yes, one of the best shopping days (weekend even!) of the year is just about a week away. I have some EXCITING things in store this year, so stay tuned! If you don't already, go ahead and follow me on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, and TWITTER - in that order because Instagram is my fave! You'll be up to date by the minute that way - not just for Black Friday but the rest of the year too.

Moms are the BEST!

Check out this fun email exchange!

(I changed their names to protect privacy.)

Hello,  
I received the earrings in the attached photo as a gift and don't know who they're from. They're beautiful! I want to thank whoever sent them. Do you know the name or any information about the person who ordered these?   
Thanks!  
-Ashley   

---

Hi Ashley,  
What a lovely surprise!! They did not leave any information with their order, except their email address. I am contacting them to make sure it's okay if I forward it to you… just in case they want to stay a secret admirer ;) 
Cheers, 
~ Variya  

---
 
Hello [secretadmirer@email.com]
Ashley received her earrings and contacted me to thank you! Can I forward your email address to her so she knows who you are? And maybe your name (which I do not have!)?  
Cheers,  
~ Variya   

---

Thanks, Variya. I'm her mom—she knows me!!!!    
---

To Ashley and Mom –  OOOHHHHH this is SO SWEET!!  I told her I had to contact you in case you were a secret admirer =)  What a thoughtful Mom! 
~ Variya

Aren't moms the best? Speaking of moms... we've got some fabulous Mother's Day gift options for yours.

This custom designed bracelet tells your family history. Guaranteed to be a winner at Mother's Day brunch.

This heirloom quality sterling silver birthstone necklace features a hand forged pendant so that new birthstones can be added as your family grows.

Pure Titanium Only Please

I thought I’d share this exchange between a customer and me because our conversation might help clear up some questions about titanium.

Hello!

I found your shop on Etsy when searching for titanium earrings. I definitely have problems wearing regular earrings, and I recently tried implant grade titanium studs with great success. My goal now is to hopefully replace the wires on earrings I own so I can wear them. It seems like you offer titanium wires, which is great.

My main question right now is are the titanium earrings and wires you sell pure titanium? I'm not sure if implant grade titanium differs from what you sell. Any information would be very helpful!

Thank you in advance,
Heather*

(*Not her real name.) 

I wrote back to Heather and told her that I use pure Grade 1 Titanium for all my earrings. Most titanium earrings on the market are produced from implant grade titanium, which is an alloy (meaning it’s mixed with other metals). And alloys are the most significant cause of reactions, which is why we enforce a strict Pure Grade 1 Titanium Only Policy here at Variya HQ.

Heather seemed to me like the type of person who would appreciate more than just a basic answer. So I sent her this link to a site that explains in detail all about the different grades of titanium. Here’s what it says about Grade 1 Titanium (the type I use for all my earrings):

Grade 1 titanium is the first of four commercially pure titanium grades. It is the softest and most ductile of these grades. It possesses the greatest formability, excellent corrosion resistance and high impact toughness. Because of all these qualities, Grade 1 is the material of choice for any application where ease of formability is required. These include:
• Chemical processing
• Dimensional stable anodes
• Architecture
• Medical industry
• Marine industry
• Automotive parts
• Airframe structure
• Variya earrings

Just kidding. I added that last one. But seriously! Marine industry? Airframe structure? We’re in good company, my friends. Variya's titanium earrings are not only allergy-free but ultra durable. I don’t even know what “dimensional stable anodes” are, but I like the sound of it.

The good news is: Heather and anyone else concerned about allergic reactions to earrings can rest easy when ordering from Variya. What sets my work apart from most “hypo allergenic” jewelry is that I use only pure grade one Titanium (and Niobium—but that’s another post) in my earrings. No alloys, no metal sensitivities, no allergic reactions, no more itchy earlobes!

Birthstone Jewelry

I have a problem. Correction: I had a problem. See, I’m super sentimental and family means the world to me. So the idea of birthstone family jewelry is right up my sentimental little alley. My problem is (was) that most birthstone necklaces and birthstone bracelets are, imo, either: 

a. gaudy, tacky and/or cheesy

b. run-of-the-mill (a serious problem when it comes to something that should be totally unique)

c. way out of my price range

In a worst-case scenario, all three problems apply.

A few years ago I came up with an exciting alternative to the typical birthstone jewelry options. When my mom and my mother-in-law both lost their only living parent in the same year. I wanted to do something extra special for them for Mother’s Day that year to commemorate the family they came from and family they created. So I came up with the idea for family birthstone bracelets. The Life Story bracelets were a big hit, and you can read the story here.

Recently I had the opportunity to experiment more with my concept for custom birthstone family jewelry. A good friend of mine told me she wanted to give her mom an extra special piece of jewelry for Christmas. Her mom doesn’t wear bracelets, so we dreamed up a necklace alternative.

This is a sketch that I texted to my friend when we were dreaming up the perfect birthstone necklace idea for her mom.

My friend’s mom has seven kids. Yes, that's right. Seven. And, it just so happens that none them share the same birthday. Holy multi-colored-birthstones! At first I was a little concerned about how we were going to incorporate all those colors and make the necklace pretty enough that my friend’s mom would actually want to wear it. I am very picky about the jewelry I make, and I’m only willing to attach my name to pieces that I’m 100% happy with. But I love my friend, and I’m always up for a challenge—so I took the job.

I designed, shaped and hammered this pendent myself. That’s just how picky I am. Everything's gotta be juuuuust right.

This piece was so much fun to design. I adore custom pieces! For one thing, I get a sneak peek into people’s stories and lives. In this case, I learned that my friend’s mom has many fond family memories that involve the beach. My friend’s mom grew up going to the beach her whole life and continued the tradition with her own family. To commemorate her parents (my friend’s grandparents) we attached a tiny seashell at the back clasp of the necklace.

The semi-precious stones strung along the sterling silver chain represent the birthdays of each of the seven kids. The charm on the pendent is for the birthday of the only grandchild. There’s only one grandchild in the family right now, but with seven kids . . . buckle up because there's sure to be more! New birthstones can be added to the pendant as the family grows.

My friend and her mom on a walk at the beach a few months ago. Seriously. Anyone who bundles up in winter coats to go the beach must really love it.

Custom heirloom birthstone jewelry can be anything you want it to be! When I made a birthstone Life Story bracelet for myself, I incorporated antique beads from my grandmother’s old jewelry into the piece.

This is me with my mom, sister and niece. Hooray for family!

If you’d like to create an heirloom piece of birthstone jewelry that captures your family’s story, please contact me and tell me everything you’re dreaming about. I’d love to work with you! 

What’s so special about handmade jewelry?

Ever heard of “bespoke jewelry”? I hadn’t, at least not til the other day when I read this article on the New York Times website. If you’re short on time, I’ll save you a few minutes and summarize:

Bespoke jewelry = custom-made jewelry.

Evidently the trend is on the upswing and it’s helping lift high-end jewelry sales out of the slump caused by the 2008 recession.

Interestingly, I came across the article around the same time I got the disappointing news that Etsy—the formerly-handmade online marketplace—changed their guidelines to allow people to sell mass produced items. When Etsy started in 2005, it was a great alternative to the abundance of online marketplaces selling mass-produced products. It was a place where artisans could sell their handmade products. It was a place where shoppers could browse hundreds of thousands of artisans’ shops and they could have confidence that all the products were individually made by the seller. It was a place where we were all taking pledges to buy handmade: 

Handmade Consortium  

But now Etsy is focusing on “authorship,” which means as long as the artist came up with the concept, they can send it out to be mass produced and still sell it on Etsy. I’m not the only one who is upset about the change. As soon as the announcement was made, the internet was flooded with articles, blogs and forums where customers and creators expressed their disappointment.

It’s not like I have anything against mass produced products. I mean, that’s pretty much every item of clothing I own (with the exception of a hat I bought in Peru and my grandma-knitted slippers). IKEA makes an appearance in more than one room of my house. There’s no handmade stamp on the tumbler I use to polish titanium wire or the pliers I use to wrap it around precious stones. So of course mass produced is okay. I’m just bummed that Etsy is moving away from their commitment to handmade that compelled me to set up shop with them in the first place.

The Etsy announcement and the article about bespoke jewelry got me thinking. What’s so special about handmade jewelry anyway?

Whether it's a proud mama who receives a multicolored band of knotted strings from her little girl, or a wealthy traveler who commissions a custom-made ring from a chunk of sapphire she acquired on a trip to Madagascar, there’s something so very special about owning a piece of jewelry that no one else in the world has. This is why I adore handmade jewelry. Each piece is a little (or, in some cases, a lot!) different. 

Titanium Posts at Variya

These pure titanium pearl post earrings are one of my best-sellers, and I make a lot of them. Sometimes I make so many, I feel like I am mass producing them! I see these babies in my mind when I’m trying to fall asleep at night. But if you could come to my studio . . . [Sidebar: I don’t actually have a studio. I make jewelry in our guest room/office, and sometimes at my kitchen table. But writing "my studio" makes me feel glamorous.] Anyway, if you came to my studio/guest room/office/kitchen table on a day when I’m whipping up a batch of Titanium Grace earrings, and if you plucked two of them off the pearly pile, you’d notice small differences. The swirls go different directions. The spaces between the wire are different. Sometimes when I have an extra cup of coffee there's an extra swirl and I have to start over!

Then there are the pieces of custom jewelry—I mean, pieces of bespoke jewelry—which are totally, completely unique. A customer in Chicago often places orders for necklaces or earrings that incorporate a specific stone that has some meaning to her.

She’ll write to me: “I really love blue topaz. Can you make me something with blue topaz?”

Or she’ll send me a photo of a necklace she loves and ask me to create something similar but with pearl or smoky quartz.

These kinds of orders are a dream. It’s so much fun for me to get input from my customer and create a special piece that’s truly unique and meaningful to her. A piece no one else in the world has. Bespoken.

London Blue Topaz Teardrop Earrings. Exquisite. Limited Edition.

Custom Garnet Necklace

Because I hand make each piece of jewelry, my customers always have the option to customize their orders, even in small ways. Titanium and niobium earrings are hard to find, and pure titanium earrings are even harder to find. So those of us with metal allergies have really limited options in the earring department. People often contact me with specific requests for their sensitive ears or for their children’s sensitive ears, and I love being able to offer exactly what my customers need and expand their options. For example, earring posts are a standard length, which is a bit of a problem since human earlobes aren’t a standard size. So sometimes customers ask for longer or shorter titanium posts. Or they ask for smaller or larger titanium hoops. 

I hope Etsy doesn’t lose sight of how special handmade is, and I hope they work things out so that shoppers will know which products and shops are handmade and which aren’t. No matter what happens with Etsy, though, I’m 100% committed to keeping Variya 100% handmade.

Custom Bridal Earrings

Summer School for Sensitive Ears

Wait! Before that last school bell rings and you grab your floppy straw hat to head for the beach, stick around for this lesson on sensitive ears, metal allergies and what makes earrings truly allergy-free.

Several years ago, I developed a metal allergy and embarked on a mission to make my lonely, naked earlobes happy once again. I had a lot of questions at the time, and maybe you do, too. If you have more questions than what's covered here, please feel free to contact me through my Etsy shop or leave a comment here. If I don't know the answer, I'll do my best to track it down.

Nickel-free, hypoallergenic, surgical steel—what’s the diff?

Alloy alloy alloy! Alloy is a mix of metals, and you never know exactly what’s in the mix.

Alloys dominate the body-piercing scene. The metal mixes have their upsides: they’re flexible but strong, they don’t rust, and they’re not too heavy. But many people have allergic reactions to one or more of the metals used to create alloys.

Terms like “nickel-free” and “hypoallergenic” are actually kind of meaningless. For starters, there aren’t any across the board guidelines about what those terms mean. So “nickel-free earrings” can actually just be nickel free in their coating but use nickel or nickel alloys in the base. So that means as the coating wears off, your poor sweet sensitive ears are exposed to the nickel (or more likely, nickel alloy).

I used to be able to wear any earrings—even cheap-o earrings—so why are my ears sensitive now? 

If your body is sensitive to something, it often gets worse over time with more exposure to the offending allergen (alloy alert!).

The upside is that if you limit your exposure to allergens on a regular basis, your body may be able to handle occasional exposure with no problems. One of my customers used to have severe allergic reactions to every earring she tried. Nickel free, sensitive ears, hypoallergenic, even gold—you name it, her ears hated it. Then she found out about pure titanium earrings and discovered Variya. After a few years of wearing no earrings (boo!), followed by a few years of wearing Variya’s allergy free titanium and niobium earrings (yay!), now her ears can handle wearing high quality gold and even the occasional cheap-o earrings.

However, that's not true for everyone. Some people's allergies get worse as time goes on. Full disclosure: my sensitive ears cannot handle anything other than pure titanium or niobium.

Everyone is different and responds differently to metals in jewelry. But one thing is for certain: my customers have always had success with Variya's earrings made from pure titanium or niobium.

What makes titanium and niobium truly allergy-free?  

The titanium and niobium that Variya uses are PURE. I use only grade one pure metals for any part that touches the skin. A lot of other “hypoallergenic” jewelry is surgical implant quality, which is an alloy and can cause allergic reactions. For the overachievers in this class, here’s more info on metal grades and alloys.

Okay, class is over. Now let’s get on with summer! Here are some of my favorite summertime jewelry picks.

With iridescent waves of blues, greens and gold, these paua shell earrings call to mind the cool ocean depths. Suspended by pure titanium kidney wires and accented with a silver plated swirl, these earrings can't go unnoticed.

Have you noticed that pearls are making a comeback? Thank God! There's something so delightfully feminine about pearls.

These fabulously mod titanium wishbone earrings feature polished vintage pearls. They are very light and comfortable to wear (as all summer jewelry should be!). The pearls are available in classic white or elegant grey.

Margarite is a girls’ name that means 'pearl,' and it's the name I’ve bestowed upon these perfect-for-summertime pearl earrings. Sterling silver plated ovals hang from titanium ear wires. The lovely wire-wrapped freshwater pearls will sway gracefully in the summer breezes.

This is one of my favorite pieces of all time. Exquisite jasper, genuine aquamarine, sterling silver, Swarovski crystals and genuine Peruvian blue opal intermingle on this fabulous necklace. The extra long lariat can be worn long, layered, doubled, draped down the back, or any other way you can imagine. It’s a perfect piece to spice up a cocktail dress or give a hip edge to your casual summer look.

Speaking of summer . . . may yours be filled with sunshine, ocean breezes and beautiful jewelry (allergy-free, of course)!

My little boy and me on vacation a couple weeks ago. Ahh, the beach. 

This Jewelry Tells a Story

Can anyone else relate to getting more and more sentimental as you get older?  

I’ve always been sentimental. I save things. I adore traditions. Things related to family and love make me teary.  

My son's first coloring page from 2006

It doesn’t take much to get the tears flowing. I cried at my son’s kindergarten graduation . . . and 10 weeks later when I dropped him off for the first day of first grade. I cried a couple weeks ago when I thought about my mom coming to visit (because I wanted to see her, just to be clear!).  I cried when my husband shared this video with me.  I cried just thinking about writing this blog post.  

I think it’s because the more time goes by, the more I realize how quickly time goes by. 

My son is approaching the age where he won’t want me to tuck him in at night anymore. So these days, even when I’m exhausted and just want to send him upstairs with a peck on the cheek, I’m really making an effort to put him to bed every night with a story and a song—like this one by Steven Curtis Chapman, which I’ve been singing to him ever since he was in utero.

The idea for Life Story birthstone jewelry was born out of my sentimentality and love of family. When my mom and my mother-in-law both lost their last living parent in the same year, I wanted to do something extra special for them for Mother’s Day that year. I’ve always loved birthstone jewelry, but I wanted this piece to be more. I wanted to create a piece to commemorate the family they came from and family they created. I wanted it to tell their life story.

I made a bracelet for my mom, using vintage pearls that belonged to my grandmother (her mom). The first strand of pearls starts with the birthstones of my mom’s parents. The second strand begins with my parents’ wedding anniversary stone, followed by the birthstones of my siblings and me.  

The bracelet I made for my mother-in-law uses a similar pattern and includes a charm of Czech glass in the colors of the Italian flag to commemorate her cultural heritage. 

This past Christmas, the idea grew. I wanted to create a special gift for my sister, something meaningful but simpler than the bracelet. So I developed the Life Story necklace.  

Sisters!

The Life Story necklace I made for my sister has a birthstone representing her, her husband and two children on a bronze chain finished with a charm of our parent's birthstones.

I made a necklace for myself, as well, and I love wearing it because it tells so much about my own family’s story. The birthstones for my husband, son and me are suspended from an antiqued sterling silver plated chain. An asymmetrical feature on the side includes three tiny pearls for my siblings and me, and the gems next to the pearls are my parents’ birthstones.   It reminds me of each of them and keeps them close to my heart.

Mother’s Day is coming up, and I can tell you from personal experience that these Life Story jewelry pieces make a guaranteed winner of a gift. The day my mom received her bracelet in the mail, I got a message on my phone that I couldn’t even decipher through her tears and hiccups. I couldn’t have been happier! (We sentimental types like to make other people cry so we have company.) 

Next time you're in the mood for a good cry, feel free to snag my Spotify list of my latest most sentimental songs.

Whether it’s for you or for a special gift for someone special, I’d love the opportunity to work with you to create a custom piece that tells your family’s story. We’ll add sentiment to birthstone jewelry by incorporating history and personal touches. We can integrate elements of a vintage jewelry piece that carries special meaning to you. Some of my clients choose to add a charm near the clasp to say something significant about their family.  

This client requested a charm of the infinity symbol to represent never-ending love

Delicate pink pearls on this bracelet speak to the strength and bravery of the breast cancer survivor who received this bracelet as a gift.

Tiny silver scissors make a perfect charm for this hair stylist's Life Story bracelet.

From now through Mother’s Day, my Life Story birthstone jewelry—necklaces and bracelets—are on sale. Mention coupon code Sentiment2013 when you order and get 15% off your custom jewelry.