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Birthstone month: NovemberColor: Citrines range from pale honey yellow to deep brownish or reddish orangeFamily: QuartzMoh's Hardness: 7Transparency: Transparent to semi-transparent Citrine is from the quartz family, which includes other colorful stones such as agate, amethyst, chalcedony, jasper, rose quartz, smoky quartz, and tiger's eye. In fact, since natural citrine is rare, most citrines you see are actually heat-treated amethyst (GIA). Because amethyst and citrine are both from the quartz family, occasionally a bi-colored hybrid gemstone will occur, aptly named ametrine. Ametrine displays a transition in color from amethyst's purple to citrine's yellow. The citrine gemstone is transformed into a...

Protea flowers are so alluring! They have dramatic, sharp petals atop a cluster of stiff, glossy leaves. Those rigid and geometric details inspired me to create this collection. Last month I added a couple new pieces to the Protea Collection. Both of these new pieces come in lustrous sterling silver, and have an oxidized finish to emphasize the recessed patterns. Check out the Protea Amulet Necklace and the Protea Stacker Ring in my online shop! xo,Christine

Last month I added the Protea Stacking Ring and the Protea Amulet Pendant to the Protea Collection. This week I'm working on doorknocker style earrings as the next addition to the collection. After a couple versions, I think I nailed down the right proportions.   xo, Christine

Birthstone month: OctoberColor: Opals come in a variety of colors, but are most often predominantly clear, white, blue, black, or orange (known as Mexican or fire opals)Family: OpalMoh's Hardness: 5.5-6Transparency: Translucent to opaque Opals are best known for the flashes of rainbow-colored light that dance across the surface of the stone. These flashes of light and color refract as a result of the grid-like formation of tiny silica spheres that make up this gemstone. The varying size of spheres changes how light is refracted back to your eye, and thus what color you see in the opal. Opals are typically...

I attended a lecture at the University of the Arts last night entitled "The Modern Marketer: a discussion on what it means to work in today's digital landscape." This event was a panel discussion led by Alisha Miranda, and featured Suzanne Cotter, Swabreen Bakr, and Ashley Bernard. They discussed SEO, building content calendars, researching trends, content pillars, decks, metrics, Google analytics certification, and so many other terms that I could barely take notes fast enough! My favorite part of the night was hearing specific details about each of these women's workdays, and how they've been able to learn, adjust and...