Learn all you needed to know about Tagua
Organic Materials
Tagua Nut
The tagua nut is one of the eco-friendly materials obtained from the Coast of Ecuador. After being harvested from the ground, the tagua nut passes through a process of drying, hardening, and carving. Its natural color and texture so closely resemble ivory that it is called “vegetable ivory”. Many people promote the use of tagua over animal ivory, as it is much more humane. For most of our jewelry, the tagua beads are dyed in an array of beautiful colors, before becoming stunning fashion pieces.
Açaí Berry
The Açaí palm is a tree which grows in Brazil and Peru. The indigenous people have been harvesting this fruit for hundreds of years. Açaí berries are the Amazon’s most powerfully nutritious superfood, but the berries can also be used to make gorgeous necklaces and bracelets. To make these beads, the Acai berries are handpicked, and the seeds are dried and coloured.
Pambil Seed
These seeds come from one of the grandest palms of South America. The Pambil palm is an essential resource for the culture of Peru and Ecuador, as its wood is used for constructing houses, lances, bows, and blowpipes, and the leaves are woven into roofs of native huts. The Pambil palm’s fruit, approximately one inch in diameter, contains the delicate seeds used in our jewelry.
Gemstones come in a massive variety of colors, shapes and formations. There is a wealth of knowledge available to those who seek it and it can become very cumbersome to anyone new to it. We take our knowledge of gemstones and apply it across all of our pieces. It's a knowledge that comes from years of experience selecting the correct stones for the correct piece. If you would like to learn more about stones in general, please have a look at Fire Mountain Gems Color Chart. They have laid out a massive color chart for all of their available gemstones. It is a good resource for learning more about the stones and their colors.
All gems have a history of story-telling and hidden meanings that originated from the olden days. Learning about these stones gets you informed for what fits you best. It could be how the stone got it's name or what birthstone it is. All of this information can help you pick out a piece that fits you. It also helps us select stones for pieces that work well together. To learn more about these properties of the stones, visit Fire Mountain Gems Gemstone Resource.
Another one of our common materials in our pieces are the Tropical Sea Beans. They are a beautifully unique seed that is housed in a dangerous pod. Originating from Costa Rica these, seeds often traverse the world by ocean before being claimed for a new life as decorative jewelry. You can learn more about the Sea Beans here at Wayne Armstrong's section of Palomar College.
The most common style you will find in our store is that of Boho. Boho is short for Bohemian. It is a style that began around two centuries ago in the Czech Republic by nomadic people. It's the idea of being free and open with no constraints on life. We try to bring in as much of that idea as possible when we construct our pieces. For more information on the history of Boho Style visit The Jewelry Shopping Guides Writeup of Boho Style.