*one for my dad*

The Love Angel Baroque Akoya strand; part of the proceeds go to ALS research.

The Love Angel is my newest piece. My partner sold the the first one so quickly that I didn't have a chance to see it in person. I ordered one for myself and I love the surprising weightiness of it and have been wearing it non-stop. The Love Angel reminds me of my childhood, but is somehow very adult too. I chose this piece to dedicate to my father, who has been valiantly battling ALS for the last year and a half. A portion of all profits is going to the ALS research group that my family and I feel is most deserving.




As many of you know, I have a new Fine Jewelry line. After I developed my Magical Mind textile, I wanted to take some of the icons that I used in the print and cast them in 18k gold. All of the icons/images in the textile mean something specific to me. I chose images that come from my own childhood and current life; creatures that I've always loved, real and imagined. I believe when you use personal images, it conveys an immediate feeling that's very different than just choosing icons that you think others might like. It was only when we cast them in 18k gold and turned them 3-D that I realized many of the images are drawn from the memory of the little jewelry pins my dad would surprise me with when I was a kid.




The Love Angel is a 27 inch strand of Baroque Akoya pearls with an 18k Angel. (Strands are also available with an 18k Seahorse or Sapphire/Emerald pave Frog). I'm in the lucky position of being able to use one of the finest lots of Baroque Akoya pearls to be found--the luster on these pearls is amazing and even my business partner says it's one of the finest lots he's ever come across. He supplies many of the top Fine Jewelry stores in the world, such as Tiffany's (and others that I'm not allowed to say), with their pearls, and all of the South Sea and Akoya pearls that I use are of the same caliber.




Here is a Turquoise pair of my 18k Bird earrings that I delivered to a client this weekend. Shhhh, please don't tell my partner that I was playing in the garden with our jewelry--he would kill me!




This is another one of my favorite pairs--I just love colored stones, almost as much as pearls. These beauties are faceted Cognac Quartz with 18k Butterflies. I love the delicate tiny butterfly on the back of the clasp almost as much as the front!




I guess designs are sort of like children, you love them all and it's hard to be partial to one. There's something that draws me to things that are new but old, and I think the wire design and preppy updated 18k Seashell/Starfish design is like a breath of fresh air combined with old-fashioned pink coral, a nod to my parent's generation.



18k Starfish and South Sea pearl earrings

If you'd like, you can see more of my designs at maryjomatsumoto.com. And if you're interested in purchasing the Love Angel strand benefiting ALS or any other designs, you can email me directly at trustyourstyle@gmail.com.