It's been a bit of a whirlwind since I got back from my annual adventures visiting friends, family, and of course, the Tucson Gem Show 🌪️

As much as I love getting out of Berlin during the gloomier months, not gonna lie.

This year was total chaos.

Normally, it’s a chill month full of sunny blue skies and palm trees dancing in the breeze, but this year was not that. About a week after my husband and I arrived, there was an onslaught of atmospheric rivers in southern California the entire month, and they eventually led to snow storms and closed roads in Arizona of all places!

I was not prepared.

Aside from my very wildly inadequate wardrobe options, the unexpected severe weather made for constantly change of plans, missing connections and a lot of stress.

The silver lining?

Over the last couple years, I’ve made it a point to get more in tune with my intuition, and it served me well on this crazy trip. Things were relatively smooth sailing while I was at the show itself, but with all the chaos that was about to go down I’m so grateful that I listened to my intuition and go for all the glimmers I could find at the show.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I’m big on glimmers, and I love bringing them into my work. If you’re not familiar, glimmers are those little moments in life where you feel inherently connected to the world around you and keep you open to the beauty the world has to offer.

While I was wandering the show this year, I couldn’t help but focus on glimmmering and glowing gems with charming little details that made me happy no matter how much rain (or snow) would eventually come down.

I’m back in the studio for a hot minute before heading out for another month-long trip (San Francisco and Chicago if you’re curious), but I’m so excited about these charming new gems that I had to share and get your thoughts.

Take a look! 👇

The Dream Gems

Whenever I go to a gem show, I always have a budget and make a few lists ahead of time.

Must haves, nice to haves, and dream gems.

My must haves always include metals and a new selection beads for gemstone and sandalwood bracelets, and this year the nice to have list included often requested silver hoops and weighty chains.

The dream gems?

I don't always get to fill this category, but this year I was on the hunt for polished malachite charms, gemstone clouds, and intricate carved gems with a bold impact.

Malachite Charms

Malachite has always been one of my favorite gemstones. There’s just something about that contrasting green banding that draws me in. I’ve always understood this to be a stone of growth and transformation, which perfectly fits where I’m at in life right now.

Sure enough, I found a couple charming options that also happen to be on my list of personal glimmers.

I brought home a strand of lucky four leaf clovers and a handful of vintage carved bear charms with the most exceptional color and contrast.

The gemstone clouds, on the other hand, were far more elusive.

Sunny Citrine Clouds and Aquamarine Raindrops

I’d gone to half a dozen shows during the week and found nothing of the sort, but on my very last day I found a single strand of sunny and smoky citrine clouds next to the most delicate aquamarine drops I’ve ever seen and a snatched them up in a heartbeat.

The combination reminded me of one of my favorite glimmers - rain on a sunny day. Also known as rainshine or sunshowers, I love light in all it’s forms, and there’s something totally magical about raindrops sparkling in the sunshine.

The Symbol of Life: Crystal Skulls

At first glance these specimens may not seem like my normal vibe, but I’ve been fascinated with carved skulls since high school. I was gifted a small hematite skull and I lost it somewhere a long the way, but I never forgot about them!

You may be surprised to know that they’re not so much a symbol of darkness as much as they are a symbol of life. I’ve always felt a mysterious connection to carved stone skulls, and I have a collected quite a few of my own over the years.

That said, in my many decades of gem shows, I’ve never seen skull beads of this caliber.

I couldn’t resist the rose quartz, but was fascinated with the mookaite strand I picked up. Mookaite is a stone from the jasper family and is said to promote courage, strength and luck. The colorways on this stone typically range from deep golden yellow to brick red, but I was especially drawn to these carvings because of the unusual pink, lavender and purple hues in the mix.

Glowing Mother of Pearl

Mother of pearl has been a recent favorite of mine because it has an intrinsic glow goes way beyond the summer months and works well in any season. This year I found the tiniest stars, various hearts, bamboo, smiling lips, angel wings, hamsas, and cute little kiddos to bring into my designs.

And last but absolutely not least, we have…

Luminous Freshwater Pearls

Stunning is all I can say about the lush and luminous pearls I picked up this year.

They’re larger than I typically work with, and have an organic yet dynamic appearance. Some of them remind me of flames, and others look like comets careening through the night sky.

Share Your Thoughts

There was s so much dreamy goodness to choose from, and it all brought a smile to my face. I can’t wait to start working with these incredible gems!

So I'm curious - what pieces make you smile and what do you want to see first?

Are you feeling lucky and looking for clover jewelry, thinking about about an adjustable choker necklace with little star link or maybe you’re excited about some beaded skull bracelets?

As you can see, I have some ideas to sketch out while I’m out of town over the next month and I would love to have your input while I'm in the planning stages.

So what do you think? Comment below with your thoughts.