Story of the World in Stars Jewelry Collection

I've always been drawn to the stars. I was really lucky to have spent a lot of time in nature throughout my childhood. Whether it was during a camping trip with Scouts (yes, I spent a few years in Girl Guides and then many more years as a Scout.) Or it was during long weekend cabin-camping trips with my family. When we had campfires, I would inevitably spend a period of time looking up into the stars. And I would be reminded of how small we really are as humans on this big planet in a much, much bigger galaxy (and beyond.)  That child-like bewilderment of the night sky still lives in me now. 

So before we go on, I should tell you that I was originally going to write this blogpost about all the individual pieces in the World in Stars collection. But instead I did "12 Days of Holiday Gifts" over on my Instagram where each day a single piece from the collection was featured and I tell you about the inspiration behind it, check it out.

This post is about how I determined my first full jewelry collection would be about the stars and seeing them around the world. It started with the first time I had ever spent Christmas and the holidays away from family, just a couple of years ago. My husband and I had moved continents that past year so we felt like it would be great to start our own traditions and to end our year of travel (and we did a lot of travelling that year) with a bang. My immediate idea was how romantic would it be to spend the holidays in London and Paris! The coziness of having a roast dinner for Christmas dinner and the excitement of ringing in the new year at the Eiffel Tower. 

So we did just that, booked our flights and trains for London & Paris, and off we went just a few days before Christmas. I loved how festive London got for this season - the lights all over the city, the holiday markets, and of course, high tea! Paris was just as beautiful - I had never been there before and it was everything I hoped. Beautiful cafes, walks through the park, and of course, a shimmering Eiffel Tower! But here's the thing, despite such a wonderful time we were having, I was still a little homesick. 

While we were spending our few days before New Years in Paris, I went hunting for the perfect jewelry piece to mark this trip with. (I do this with every trip, not only am I a jewelry designer, I'm also an avid collector!) I found it at a small local boutique by our hotel that didn't even really have signage, I was just told that the store was full of pieces from local artists. It was a dainty diamond encrusted star set in blackened silver. It was perfect, a little magic with a little darkness. 

During our time in Paris, I also learned about how many of the network of streets in the city was laid out like stars. I thought, how beautiful that all these stars are just connected, making up this iconic city. Then it clicked. No matter where you are in the world, and no matter where your loved ones are, when you look up at the night sky, you are looking at the same stars. It made me feel closer to family in that moment, and really, every moment since.

 The following year we took fewer trips as we tried to better settle into our new city. But we did take a few and no matter where I went, I saw the stars. You also see star motifs all over the world. Different cultures have different kinds of stars, used in architecture, decor or fashion. I saw the special magic they brought no matter where they showed up. So I spent the better half of this year, developing a full collection, inspired by the stars. 

I decided to use zircon as the gemstone of this collection. Zircons are often mistaken for cubic zirconias but they are completely different stones. Zircons are natural gemstones found in nature (not synthetic like cubic zirconias) and said to be one of the oldest minerals found on earth, dating as far back as 4 billion years! I found this fact to reflect stars perfectly as most stars are said to burn between 1 to 10 billion years. 

I hope you love this collection. I hope you find a piece that helps you feel connected to your loved ones or a special moment in time you don't want to forget, and that you wear it on your unforgettable journey of life.