My Love Affair With What I do...

I love what I do.  But I must tell you, I haven't always.  I know it's natural to swing from highs to lows in one's livelihood.  But designing jewelry is an art, it requires conviction and commitment in order for it to be good, and for it to mean something.  I have a strong desire to consistently have a love affair with my work.  

The fashion industry is a tough place to be.  It can be fickle and superficial, and many times sends a message to women that they aren't acceptable unless they conform to its image of "perfection".  My life's purpose of empowering all women to feel great about themselves as they already are seemed so often at odds with the driving ambition of the fashion industry.  At my lowest moment of disillusion, I resigned myself to leave the industry and to leave my jewelry business completely. 

As I think about it, that moment in 2004 turned out to be a great catharsis.  It led me to explore how I could make a difference in the world. As many of you know, I successfully recovered from anorexia in 1992, and the mission closest to my heart was service work with girls and women struggling with eating disorders.  This mission is so in line with why I started designing jewelry in the first place -- to empower women to feel as great as they are.  

In 2004, at this cathartic moment, I decided to escape the "every day," knowing I needed perspective.  It was an adventure, but also a way to find myself.  And in Cape Town, South Africa, far away from Dallas, I met the person who asked me the key questions. A man named Caspar worked with entrepreneurs interested in getting out of their businesses - he was a broker for sales.  But instead of helping me sell mine, he prompted me to think deeper.  What I discovered from our conversation is that rather than being at odds with the fashion industry, I am actually in the perfect place to make a difference.  To create beautiful pieces that will empower all women to feel great about themselves.  

Close contact with an elephant in Botswana, Africa

I visited a village full of children in Zambia, Africa

Thanks to this non-coincidental messenger meeting me in the right place at the right time, it became simple.  The vehicle to live my purpose was right in front of me all along.  I saw that I had been living my life's purpose already, without conscious intent.

The experience in Africa was the beginning of my spiritual journey into a whole new world.  When I realized that I could touch every single woman with my jewelry designs - my customer, employee, vendor, friend, family - simply by being true to the mission of empowering them to feel great about themselves, the possibilities became endless! Every single woman I know (definitely including myself) needs to be reminded to feel beautiful... RIGHT NOW!  Not tomorrow, not when she loses 5 pounds, not when the divorce is final, not when she gets her MBA, not when she gets a raise, not when she gets pregnant, not when the chemo is completed, not when she finds the man of her dreams.  It is now my conscious intent to design jewels that empower all women every day. To feel beautiful.

Sunset photo that I took from the jeep in Botswana

I am touching a rainbow at Victoria Falls in Zambia

The Hope Star has become a symbol of my mission to inspire women to feel beautiful.  You will find a Hope Star wherever I can fit it on my jewelry—on the back of a pendant's bail, inside a ring shank, on the backside of an earring post, often in the least obvious of places.   After my return from Africa, I launched the Hope StarCollection to raise money and awareness for The Elisa Project and the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), both of which are organizations that have named me an ambassador.  

The Hope Star is not just a symbol, and the message to Feel Beautiful is not just a slogan.  They are the compass that guide me as I lead my team at Elizabeth Showers, and as I meet and get to know women all over the world.  It's the compass that empowers me to live in a love affair with my work.

xoxo Elizabeth

Almost Spring Break...

 

I don’t know about you, but I get completely bogged down with the overwhelming number of emails I receive daily and information overload in my life.  It could not have come at a better time when two of my closest friends recently suggested (within 24 hours of each other...coincidence? I think not!) that I read this book, “Getting Things Done” by David Allen.  I had to share it with you - it has really caught my attention. I am getting focused J 

 

Also, I am heading to Colorado this week for my own version of “spring break”!  It will be filled with my version of the three R’s (reading, relaxation, restoration) – I am really looking forward to this trip.  I am very excited to visit two of our favorite stores we sell to while I am out there.  If you know me, you know I am a nature girl at heart and love quaint resort towns; the weather is supposed to be perfect too! Stay tuned for pictures and my book review!!

 

 

By the way, we just got a few new spring pieces in! What do you think?

 



Until next time....
xxoo Elizabeth

I love Dallas!

Oh, how I love Dallas.... 

There are so many aspects that I draw inspiration from and use in my jewelry; Dallas being one of them.  This city has been my home for 25 years; 17 of which I have been designing jewelry. My work has always been designed around a purpose and has upheld a colorful and youthful spirit, much like Dallas.  Dallas is a dynamic, thriving, multi-cultural city where innovation and design are ever present.

From its classic staples like the Dallas Museum of Art to the thriving, new Klyde Warren Park, Dallas serves as a highly connective space for all to gather.  It is a great city to meet and interact with the people who provide me with the purpose for my jewelry: to empower all women feel beautiful.  

          
 I can tell you...it is the simplest times when I feel most beautiful, like walking my dogs around White Rock Lake or getting sweaty and focused in an Exhale Spa yoga class (Namaste, ya’ll!!). The best part of all this is that I have designed my jewelry to be versatile; and yes, I do wear my pieces to the gym!!



           You can always catch me at forty five ten having lunch at the T Room with friends and colleagues or strolling through West Village on my way to catch a movie at the Magnolia. I am such a fan of dinner and a movie dates with my best friends; Dallas has some great hot spots.

my "yoga" earrings and the perfect color for spring!

True beauty is present in all of Dallas, and let’s be honest, Dallas is known for its beautiful women!  But if you look closely, you will find an inner passion and strength in all of them that comes from living here.  And herein lies the reason for my designs... I have realized that my jewelry has the power to make women feel beautiful in any setting; like in the City Surf Fitness class I am taking this weekend - so excited! 

Anyone who knows a little bit about me can see that I am a proud Texas girl, to the core.  Nature, art, and community make me who I am and what Dallas means to me: it is my home. This year I have been nominated for D Magazine’s Best Fine Jewelry Designer.  It goes without saying that without my loyal customers and steady support system, I wouldn’t have even been nominated.

It would be a great honor to win this category and be featured in D Magazine.  I cannot do this without your votes. It means so much to me just to be nominated, but hey…who doesn’t like to win? ;)

Please click here to vote – you can vote on any and ALL devices EVERYDAY until March 10^th, which will be here Monday!

Thanks to all! Feel Beautiful –

Elizabeth