Welcome to Tesoros- Our Journey Begins

Posted on by Artful Gems

Tesoros Logo

I hope that you will follow my journey, one that began  a while back. It has taken me a long time to finally see the direction in which I’m travelling, even if I still do not know where I’m going!

Tesoros has been creating pieces that connect you to Mother Earth. We transform semi precious stones and metals and take advantage of their spiritual and healing properties. The result is pieces that embody strength, beauty, and power. They carry our unique energy! The look is  bohemian, individual, and exotic. Feel the connection! 

Since 2005, I have been experimenting with different jewelry techniques and working towards a look that is individual and unique. I have spent​​ ​countless hours trying new and exciting ideas, always striving to somehow make them my own. But looking back, this was not the beginning of my journey and my love affair with jewelry.

Memories

​I can remember being a little girl and loving jewelry. I can still recall certain pieces. They stand out like symbols of my life. One that I see vividly was a Sunburst Sterling Silver pendant ​that my grandmother saved stamps for.  Remember stamps? You had to collect a certain number of them and then redeem them for an item you wanted. My Grandma always saved them for bath towels but on one occasion, I was looking at the things you could get and I saw the pendant. My grandma sacrificed her stamps to get me the pendant. Bonus!!! It came with a neck wire! I had never seen that!​ I have spent many hours on the internet trying to find one that closely resembles it with no success.

 

Another one I recall was a necklace with a Turquoise pendant, also in Sterling Silver. I wore this one through high school. I wonder what happened to it?  I wore it with everything! It was a very special piece. I loved the Turquoise and I played with it all the time. It made me feel good.
And then there is copper wire. From a very young age, I played with wire. I love copper Artisan earrings and I purchased a pair at a fair when I was in high school. They became my “Go To” earrings and I wore them out! They were what they now classify as Ethnic designs. They were representative of my Taino roots. I will blog about them as I share with you, but mainly, they were the Native Americans of the Caribbean and of South America.
One day I tried to figure out how they had been forged. I “straightened the wire” and of course, I ruined them. I just wanted to see if I could manipulate the wire and reproduce them. As I blog, I will tell you more about my mishaps. I guess they’re all part of the journey!

It Takes Practice

Although my first passion is working with wire, I wanted to learn to work with different methods. So, I bought every book I could find and subscribed to jewelry and wire magazines. I read them all! When the Internet came around, I watched videos and followed the latest trends. I practiced, practiced, practiced. What started out as a hobby soon became my obsession! I couldn’t wait to have free time to practice and create a piece.
Michael’s and Joann’s became my favorite stores! I went to flea markets and Tag sales looking for old and vintage pieces that I could work with. I should not call it work because it was play for me. People play sports or cards; I play with beads and stones. The love affair is such that I sometimes find myself just digging into a box of stones, feeling their shapes, their weight, their smoothness or roughness… In other words, connecting with the stones. I didn’t know it then, but that was the beginning of Tesoros! But, the brand went through many changes to get to where it is today.

Changes

One of the changes Tesoros has been through is a name change. As my pieces became better, ​I began to give them out as gifts! I called them Creations and from there Creations by Norma was born! My friends gave them that name! Every one of them had a Creation and every one of them urged me to sell! But, I was terrified!!! What if they turned? What if they broke? What if they were not as good as people thought they were?​
While all this was happening, I started to notice being pulled in another direction. I didn’t know where I was going but there was no denying it. There was something very Spiritual about it. Semi Precious stones became the center of my Creations. I was drawn to them in the same way I was drawn to the Turquoise I had in high school. Little did I know at the time that stones had been manifesting themselves all along.
I do not know in which direction I’m heading. What I do know is that I’m where I’m supposed to be.
On January 15, 2018, Treasured Designs will launch Tesoros!​ 

This is my first post!!! Yayyy!!!

 

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