Hello sweeties,
Today I would like to present you with this amazing etsy shop I stumbled upon some time ago. Meri, the owner of Gardens of the Sun makes these unique jewelry pieces using raw diamonds and rough gemstones from Indonesia. I love her artwork and I am really glad to feature her in my blog. She's also very sweet and she is having a special sale just for you guys, look for it at the end of the post. Enjoy!
Hi there! Pleasure to meet you. I am Meri, owner of Gardens of the Sun on Etsy. I design raw diamond and rough gemstone jewelry for the free spirited woman.
Creating things is what I love doing most. My daytime job is as a sustainability consultant and mediator in the forestry sector. In the spare minutes of my life you will find me making yoghurt, cheese, birdcage lights and designing everything I could possibly need. Did you know I even designed my own workbench?
I live in Bogor, Indonesia, a place famous for its botanical gardens. It is often called City of Rain, because of the many tropical thunderstorms. Some late afternoons and evenings it is almost impossible to have a conversation even inside of the house because of the heavy rains and thunder. Right now it’s sunny though!
Less than a year ago I started my own Etsy shop. I quickly found my niche in elegant organic designs with rough candy rocks that are ethically and sustainably sourced whenever possible. In December and January I even went to Sri Lanka to get some very special sapphires almost straight from the mines. One of them is a sparkly bicolor sapphire I am setting in a ring to treat myself!
Originally I was only working with silver. I am now also creating gold jewelry. This summer I will be expanding my line of diamond slice jewelry. I love the innovative designs I get to make with these, resulting in a raw and non-traditional yet elegant look. The organic beauty of the stones, their amorphous shapes, the intriguing internal patterns and the myriad colors make that no two slices are alike. This also means that mass production is not possible (yoo-hoo!). 
emerald earrings
Starting next month you can find my jewelry in the brick and mortar jewelry boutique Shangri La in California. Very excited about this.
Thank you for taking the time to have a look at my designs. Every day I still get so amazed people actually choose to wear my designs, especially considering all the other amazing choices out there. It would be an honor to also see you wearing one of my pieces. You can use the coupon code AKAMATRAFRIENDS for 15% off until 30 June 2014. I would love to receive a picture afterwards to see you wearing one of my creations!
Thank you Meri for this lovely interview and for sharing so many wonderful things about yourself and your work!
Smouts for now
Akamatra
