About the Jewelry

The Materials

Wood – For my wooden jewelry I use olive wood, from Jordan. Olive wood has a rich, beautiful grain, takes a wonderful finish, and is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 

My provider of olive wood is Holy Land Designs, a workshop in Amman, Jordan committed to the community and the environment. Their ethical way of sourcing the wood and enriching the lives of their employees is very important for me, as my practice becomes more and more sustainable. I also outsource the laser cutting of my designs to this workshop. 

In the Middle East, the olive tree is considered “blessed,” even holy. No tree would be cut down simply for its wood. Holy Land Designs celebrates this time-honored tradition and uses only olive wood from trees which have been pruned way back because they are not producing fruit, or cut down because of road construction or building.

Wood finishes – In an effort to keep the chemicals we are all exposed to at a minimum, I chose to finish the wood with environmentally friendly, non-toxic products. I use milk paint for the hand-painted jewelry. It is made from 100% organic material, with simple ingredients such as milk protein, lime and earth-based pigments for color. 

All my wooden jewelry, painted or not, is coated with a perfect blend of pure tung oil and citrus solvent. This final coating protects the wood, enhances the grain, and deepens the applied colors. Citrus solvent is an oil extracted from the rind of the orange, while tung oil (also called China wood oil) comes from the seed of the tung tree. 

These environmentally friendly finishes give no volatile organic compounds (VOCs), are children-safe, food contact safe and biodegradable. The milk paint adheres perfectly to the olive wood and allows the grain to nicely show through. The tung oil and citrus solvent protective coating, cures to a beautiful and durable matte finish. Real Milk Paint Co. is the supplier of these finishes.

Plant-dyed cotton – The cords of my necklaces are made with 100% cotton yarn and twill ribbon (also called twill tape). I dye the cotton myself with all natural materials: the yarn is pre-treated with soy milk, the dyes are extracted from onion skins, pomegranate skins, avocado pits and skins, walnut husks and tea. (I will keep adding to this list as I experiment with more dyes, indigo and madder root coming soon). 

You will also find in my shop some necklaces braided using high quality satin rattail cord and silk-like Japanese thread. I am little by little transitioning to the use of only naturally dyed cotton. 

Silver – For all metal jewelry pieces and  components I currently use .925 sterling silver. As sustainability and ethical production are becoming more and more important to Anabelle Colon Jewelry, and hopefully to all my clients, I will be (slowly but surely) switching to Argentium sterling silver (. 935 or .960).

Argentium is whiter, brighter, more tarnish resistant, and nickel-free, making it possible for individuals with nickel allergies to wear all kinds of Anabelle Colon Jewelry. More importantly, my supplier guarantees the Argentium is sourced only from recycled silver traceable back to the refinery. The description of each jewelry piece in the shop specifies the type of silver used. 

The Designs

Since 2008, I have made jewelry utilizing a variety of techniques, materials and designs; from up-cycling visually appealing objects, to working with precious and semi-precious metals and gemstones, to incorporating 3D printing technology in the production of my jewelry. 

Anabelle Colon Jewelry is transitioning towards more sustainable practices, and reducing the number of materials used. Wood, plant-dyed cotton and silver offer great versatility and, therefore, endless possibilities for my designs. 

The magic of translating into jewelry an array of motives, colors and shapes found in my ever-changing surroundings, or inspired by them, is for me a fascinating process. It is like narrating a dream, or making words rhyme. The act of exploring new sources of inspiration and new techniques makes me grow intensely.

I design three different jewelry lines: One-of-a-kind, Limited Editions, and Essential Pieces.

One-of-a-kind jewelry designs, to constantly exercise my creativity, experiment, and find a home for all the wonderful ideas looking to materialize. Once a design is completed, I get to move on, and explore something new.

Limited Editions of maximum ten pieces of jewelry, to give you the possibility of owning and wearing a special design, while knowing there are only ten other people in the world that have it. There are some favorites that deserve being worn by more than one person.

Essential Pieces made in unlimited quantities; to offer you well designed, easy to wear jewelry that can be combined with pretty much any other Anabelle Colon Jewelry, or your own necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings.