Silver

Inspired Design Creations
One-of-a-kind handcrafted jewelry designed to inspire you!

View All Shop's Items (22)

---

Sale Items (3)

About Inspired Design Creations

Our Service Pledge To You:
I will respond to all queries and orders within 24 hours, unless my shop is in vacation mode. I welcome any and all questions, thoughts and feedback. I want you to be thrilled with the jewelry you purchase from Inspired Design Creations. If you're not completely satisfied with your jewelry I will do everything possible to ensure your satisfaction. My goal is for you to become a long-term customer who returns to Inspired Design Creations again and again!

About Us
Welcome to Inspired Design Creations! Iï¾'m thrilled to be part of the Shops at Ruby Lane. I hope you have an easy, enjoyable, and inspiring shopping experience here at IDC. If you donï¾'t find exactly what youï¾'re looking for, donï¾'t hesitate to email or call me. I love to create custom jewelry for my clients! (See the section below regarding custom jewelry creations.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About IDCï¾'s Jewelry ï¾...

Every piece of jewelry is an original design that is conceived and handcrafted by me, Catherine Hines. Each piece is one-of-a-kind. While I may occasionally make a similar piece, I will never duplicate a piece. I have so many design ideas floating in my head that once I create a design Iï¾'m eager to move on to another! And my customers are insured that they have a truly unique piece of jewelry.

Most of my jewelry is created with semi-precious gemstones, freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystals. Occasionally I incorporate vintage beads, shells, unusual glass or ceramic beads, or beads that Iï¾'ve created out of polymer clay. I most often choose sterling silver for the metal components (clasps, spacer beads and chains) or Iï¾'ll use vermeil (sterling silver electroplated heavily with 22k gold) when the design calls for a gold-tone metal. Lately Iï¾'ve been attracted to copper, partly due to the skyrocketing cost of silver, but also because it works so well the color palettes that are popular this season.

I also have a passion for off-loom seed bead weaving. In these techniques, tiny seed beads are handwoven together with thread in various patterns to create a fabric or a rope. As you can imagine, this is very time consuming! But the results are well worth the time; the jewelry pieces I create with seed bead weaving are some of my favorites.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About custom designed jewelry ï¾...

I love to see my own designs come to life, but I get even more enjoyment from collaborating with a client and creating a piece of jewelry that he or she has envisioned. I have a knack for taking another personï¾'s idea, whether itï¾'s just a vague notion or a detailed vision, and crafting a stunning piece of jewelry. Custom designed jewelry can be inspired by almost anything: a special occasion outfit that would be even more special with the right necklace; a photograph of a bracelet that you see in a magazine; charms, beads, or a pendant from an old piece of jewelry that you no longer wear; or perhaps you simply have a design floating in your head but you donï¾'t have the necessary jewelry-making skills. Whatever your inspiration, let me design and create it for you!

I also love to design jewelry based on the symbolism and meaning of gemstones (see the section below). This has been very popular among my past clients and, since every piece of IDC jewelry includes a card telling about the stones that were used, it makes a very special personalized gift.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the history, symbolism and mythology of gemstones ï¾...

Over time, Iï¾'ve become fascinated by the history of jewelry, especially the myths and folklore surrounding gemstones. Archeologists say that beads first appeared with the advent of modern man 40,000 years ago and since then every culture throughout the world has probably created and used beads. While our modern culture considers jewelry mainly as adornment, it served numerous roles in earlier cultures: it was a medium for commerce and trade, a symbol of status within a society, and an integral part of sacred rituals. Many cultures, including all the advanced ancient civilizations, believed that gemstones had magical powers: they had protective, talismanic powers that could keep evil spirits away, they bestowed certain powers or energy upon the wearer, and they could cure assorted illnesses.

As a result of gemstonesï¾' various uses throughout history, even our modern culture associates certain symbolism with gemstones. For instance, there are birthstones for each month of the year, as well as for the 12 signs of the zodiac. A diamond, of course, symbolizes love and devotion. Amethyst is the stone of sincerity, while citrine symbolizes wealth. In the description for each piece of IDC jewelry Iï¾'ve included some comments about the symbolism and history of the stones. When you purchase a piece of jewelry from IDC it will include a card with this information.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About me ï¾...

I tell people that the left side of my brain controlled the first half of my life, and now itï¾'s the right sideï¾'s turn! Although Iï¾'ve always had a creative streak, I excelled in math and science in school. I majored in chemistry in college, then went on to get a doctorate in optometry. I taught at an optometry college for about 10 years. Iï¾'m passionate about teaching, which I guess explains why I include information about the history of gemstones --- I like the thought that perhaps someone will learn something new as the result of my efforts!

Iï¾'ve been creating and selling jewelry for about 5 years. Two years ago I entered some of my jewelry in an annual competition sponsored by Fire Mountain Gems and two of my creations won awards (one finished second-place in its category and the other was a finalist). Last year all three of the pieces that I entered were declared finalists. This was quite an honor, since they receive well over 1000 entries from all over the world!

In addition to creating jewelry, I'm also passionate about the outdoors. I enjoy hiking and backpacking, especially in the mountains of western North Carolina. There's nothing like a night in the woods to wash away stress and restore harmony. Nature is the ultimate inspiration!