This is a lovely hand-carved pendant of natural Nephrite Jade from New Zealand. Maori designs carved in jade are steeped in religious and spiritual belief. They tell stories of ancestors long lost, depict spirits from the heavens, earth, and underworld, show historical lineage and paint images of the natural world that surround and surrounded them. They are no doubt beautiful, but they’re more than a form of art. For Maori they create a strong connection with their ancestors and the natural world they live in. It was believed by Maori that as a carving was worn against the skin it absorbed some of that person's essence. As carvings were passed down through the family they absorbed essence from each family member, creating a direct ancestral connection through the necklace itself. This is one reason why Maori design is so special, it is more than just an art form.
Hi Everyone, and my apologies for the extra (& funky) blog posts this weekend -- something got thrown off on formatting (again) and I'm trying to keep you entertained while I work it out!
As a reward for those of you patient enough to stick with us during this glitchy time, please help yourself to a 30% discount on anything from the shop you may have been craving -- just use Code 80631 -- good until the end of April, 2014!
Now...For those of you who follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TheBeadCollection) you have likely seen photos and stories about our adorable office assistant, Ariel Lucy (here's a pic of when she was a baby). Miss Lucy, as she is often affectionately called, has grown up with the shop, and she works hard to support us -- doing all the little tasks we can't stand, like accounting, inventory management, mail tracking and more.
Today she even agreed to model a new bead & button necklace design (see the video via the Facebook link above.) Admittedly, she didn't focus on the task at hand as much as she could have, but we are planning some new employee development workshops for her in the near future.
While it's clear Miss Lucy hasn't perfected the art of fashion accessory modeling, we believe she is not inferior to most supermodels in the interpretation of beaded jewelry. She is able to accentuate the vivid and interesting features of the necklace as well as the warm and inviting atmosphere of our work area. Which, by the way, is about to become a mess as we just got a new shipment of beads and pendants in from Mexico. (We'll get those posted soon, if we can get Miss Lucy's attention redirected...)
Until Next Time,
Shannon
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