Inspiration

Jenny Kapella is a new client that found me through a Google search, even though she lives only a mile away. I was very happy to know my website and social media efforts led her to me and I was [...]

As the Holidays approach we reflect on the many things that bless our lives. For me, its been my family and my women friends. Here’s a story of enduring female friendship expressed in three [...]

Thirty years ago when my mother, Irene Phrydas, was diagnosed with breast cancer at 69, there were no support programs to help her through the physical and emotional challenges she faced. Mama [...]

“Who Will Remember the Ice?” My artist self found inspiration in the glaciers and colors of S.E. Alaska 46 years ago. Today my oldest daughter, Alex Van Nostrand works as an Assistant [...]

June Birthstone: PEARL   Above: Sold pins/pendants and custom necklace and enhancer Elaina Designs has long connected with dealers from all over the world in search of rare and unusual high [...]

The mainstay of Elaina Designs relies on custom design, often incorporating inherited gems and diamonds. Clients return again and again because they want something of value that is personalized, [...]

 Spring Green Necklace. Vermeil Clasp, Petal Pearls, Peridot Briolettes, 17″, $230.    Left: 14KT Yellow Gold with Faceted Peridot Briolette Earring Jacket, $475. Peridot Jacket hangs on [...]

My Papa’s exquisite sense of rhythm inspires me. I believe that it is because of him that I keenly recognize the tempo in nature, music or while dancing to the beat as he taught me to do. [...]

Greetings for the New Decade! It is that time of year when I gather gem and pearl requests for the entire year into a bundle to take to Tucson as I ply the aisles of the enormous Gem and Mineral [...]

10-23-10 Musings from my sick bed: Laid up for two weeks from emergency gall bladder surgery on 11-20-10. The Diamond Star! The model photo supposedly depicts how some white dwarf stars in our [...]

Very cool Fractal Quartz with Dendritic inclusions of Hematite. Like the arteries in our veins and the bare branches outside my window, dendrites form exactly the same way as a trace element in [...]

I feel happy, alive and full of a ripeness that is warm and intoxicating in the best sense of the word. Atlanta this spring, maybe because it took so long to get here… seems especially luscious [...]