Here at the Jewelry Revelations jewelry blog, we love Elephant Heart. Elyse Graham, the designer behind this line, was kind enough to allow me to bring you background information on her and Elephant Heart jewelry. Enjoy!
JR: How did you come up with the name Elephant Heart?
EG: My family and I share a love for a very special type of plum—the Elephant Heart plum—which is only in season for a couple weeks out of the year. After years of frustration at missing the plums when they’re in the market, my family decided to plant an Elephant Heart plum tree in our garden, only to discover that squirrels are also terribly fond of this particular fruit.
I was thinking about changing the name of my jewelry business from Elyse Jeanne to something that would better encompass the community work I was also interested in. As I was walking through the garden, I noticed that our plum tree had fruit on it for the first time in years. As I picked a piece, I was struck by the sweetness and beauty of the red center of the plum and knew I had found my name! The plum as a whole is delicious, but its true beauty comes from its big sweet heart —it is this sweetness and beauty that inspires Elephant Heart Jewelry.
Kevia is a line of intricately beautiful handmade jewelry. I was able capture some of designer Kevia Jeffrey-West’s time to bring you background information on her and Kevia jewelry. Enjoy!
Jewelry Revelations: I know that you were exposed to fashion at a young age, what in particular drew you to jewelry design?
Kevia: I have always been creative and drawn to building things. Growing up I learned to sew and create woodwork, tile mosaics, and mixed media collages. I fancied myself a collector of beautiful things whether I made them myself or scouted them out. In spite of my creative leanings my career path has not been straight and narrow. While studying in Zimbabwe on an undergraduate study abroad program I walked by a store that sold loose stones. The stones drew me in and I began to collect locally mined and cut stones, sketch designs, and found local jewelers to make my creations. I returned two years later to do post baccalaureate research and again began to design pieces for my personal collection. I planned to become a university professor and was close to finishing my doctorate when I realized my hobby was where my heart was. I am not sure that I would have thought about selling my work if a local boutique hadn’t asked me to make items for their store after they noticed a necklace I was wearing. Designing is definitely my calling. In my case I initially resisted becoming a designer because I had spent most of my energy to advance a career as a researcher and designing seemed like a risky career move. Luckily, the universe kept pulling me in the direction of fashion and eight years after I designed my first pieces I feel as though I couldn’t be happier doing anything else.
Here at Jewelry Revelations we love PONO, and I was able capture some of Joan Goodman’s time to bring you background information on her and PONO jewelry. Enjoy!
Jewelry Revelations: How did you get into the world of jewelry design?
Joan Goodman: Looking back, it was a natural progression. We have had a button company [Bobbi Trim Ltd.] for 30 years and we make all of PONO in two of our button factories in Italy. As the fashion industry started moving a lot of manufacturing to Asia, I wanted to find a new way to work with my factories in Italy and PONO was born out of that.
Jewelry Revelations: How did you come up with the name PONO?
Joan Goodman: Pono means ‘righteousness’ in Hawiian. I lived in Hawai’i in the 70s and my best friend there’s name is Pono. She embodies the ‘Aloha’ spirit beyond words. I named the company after her, setting the standard for all of us to [that work at PONO] live by.
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