All my life I have always had a wonderful obsession with detail.  I have also always been in love with anything mini and all things that sparkle.  How wonderful to have found a passion for something that puts all of those loves together; designing and creating jewelry.   I am a huge jewelry person, always have been.  I think of it as wearable art. Each day I pick out my sparkles and THEN I decide what will work with that.

To me, it is a celebration of woman, of sensuality, of femininity, of uniqueness.  Jewelry feels very sensual to me, how does it feel against my skin, how do I feel when I am wearing it? How does it accentuate the lines of my body? When designing each piece, I let the materials speak to me. What combination of colors or shapes have I not seen before, what if I pair a pearl with a funky vintage charm, what happens when metallic meets wood or gold slides into bronze. If it excites my eye, then it fills my heart. I use a large variety of high quality crystals (Swarovski and Chinese), pearls (fresh water, sea and Swarovksi glass) semi precious stones, Czech and German glass, and vintage jewelry pieces. I also use a variety of metals including sterling, Tibetan and Thai silver, copper, brass, bronze and pewter.   Each piece is created one at a time, each being different than the last, never creating the exact same thing twice.  Just like woman, we are all different; we like to show our personality in different ways. That’s why I created styles that can fit any person, any age, and any mood. And of course, any budget.

How I got into this business: A very interesting story, especially if you have EARRING ALLERGIES…

As I’ve described above, I LOVE jewelry. But sadly, I am allergic to earrings. I had them pierced when I was 3 and somehow they have never closed up. So on special occasions like my wedding day, I would wear earrings and suffer afterwards with a terribly itchy rash for weeks. Until my dear Aunt Alice sent me a little newspaper clipping of someone’s tale of the same woes, she couldn’t wear earrings. She goes on to describe that she tried “New Skin” a product that is designed to cover a cut where it is impossible to bandage. (Most drug stores carry many versions of it) It goes on like nail polish and is malleable, peeling right off at the end of the day. It has a little antiseptic in it. Just a dab on each earring hole and then while it’s wet, she slid in the earring. NO REACTION! So of course I ran out the next day to buy it. AND IT WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!! Now my only problem was that I had no earrings! So I went into my little arts and crafts studio where I dabbled in lots of stuff and made a few pairs myself. The compliments started to come right away, many telling me they would buy them right off my ears. And so it goes, indiviJewel designs was born! TRY IT! It’s miraculous.

All work is designed and created by Melissa Booker in Rockland County New York