We were very happy with the results of our silver charms and food drive for the Thanksgiving Season. We received over 50 suggestions for silver charms that we’ll turn into a $100 donation to the Alameda County Community Food Bank. Some of the silver charm ideas included: baby buggy, deer antlers, envelope, frog, scales of justice, and a postcard. There were many great ideas. And, with time you may see some of them in silver! Thanks so much for your participation. Support your local food banks.
Sterling Silver Charms from Nina Designs come in hundreds of shapes but we are always looking for new ideas. We also like to give thanks during this holiday season by making donations to prevent hunger. We thought it would be fun to combine our passion for silver charms with a food drive. Just leave a comment with your idea for a new silver charm and we will donate $1 to the Alameda County Community Food Bank. We’ll donate another $1 if you find Nina Designs on Facebook or Twitter, and leave your silver charm ideas there too! We have had requests for football charms, bear silver charms and kitchen utensil silver charms. What is your silver charm request? Think about it while you cook and feast. We will run this silver charm/food drive through November 28th. Bon Apetit!
An excerpt from Alameda County Community 2010 Hunger Study: “Children make up the largest group of people receiving emergency food in Alameda County. Alarmingly, this study reveals that demand among minors is escalating at a rate disproportional to the population in general. Seniors also remain particularly vulnerable to hunger. For low-income seniors, many of whom are already susceptible to chronic diseases and disabilities, a lack of access to nutritious food often triggers depression”.
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Women who are drawn to jewelry design, who love working with beautiful silver beads and whimsical silver charms, are artists. We imagine and sketch jewelry designs inspired by nature and the things we love. Everyday we create objects of beauty we can’t wait to wear and share with our friends. We are lucky to have found an outlet for our artistic flair and to have that interest recognized, nurtured, and supported by those we love.
Thank you for your support!
This recognition and support of the promise in each and every one of us is exactly what Half the Sky Foundation does for orphaned children in China. Through your support on Facebook, this is why Nina Designs is happy to send Half the Sky a check for $500. Institutionalized children often shut down, feel scared and alone, and, having retreated within themselves, are hard to reach. Through infant nurture, responsive listening, and art exploration these children open up, learn to trust and communicate. No longer shy and reclusive, they become expressive young adults. And, when they show an interest in art that interest is recognized and supported like our families have done for us.
Through generous donations, Half the Sky is able to offer some scholarships for college tuition for kids brought up in their programs: “My name is Luo LiNa and I grew up in the Chengdu Children’s Welfare Institution. As far back as I can remember, I often admired and observed nature around me. Whenever I had spare time, I would take a pen and begin to draw. On July 27th, 2006 I received a letter of admission from Chengdu Technological University. My overwhelming joy quickly changed to fear. Fear that I couldn’t afford tuition and would have to pass on the opportunity I had always dreamed about. Just when I was about to give up on my dream, the institution director told me: “NaNa, Half the Sky will provide you with a scholarship for your tuition!” I was so ecstatic to hear this news that my eyes filled with tears.”
I am a jewelry designer and the lucky mother of two wonderful daughters, both of whom I adopted from China as infants. People often say to me, “Your children are so lucky you adopted them”. The truth is that all of our children are extremely lucky. They could have been born in a country ensnared in poverty or local warfare. They could have been born to families that could not take care of them. Please help me celebrate our collective good fortune and honor all the children of the world by improving young lives one by one.
To show our love for the little ones who need our help, Nina Designs will donate $1 to Half The Sky Foundation for every new person who “likes” our Nina Designs Facebook page by Nov 7th up to $1,000.
Half the Sky enriches and enhances the prospects for orphaned children in China through their infant nurture and preschool programs as well as by offering personalized learning, family care, and medical care. It is the goal of Half the Sky to ensure that every orphaned child has a caring adult in their life and a chance at a bright future. Together we can make a difference!
Your Holiday gifts can also be gifts to Half the Sky with our Have a Heart, Save a Child Necklace.
Silver Jewelry Findings formed the foundation of Nina Designs, but over the past 25 years we have expanded into jewelry making supplies from silk cord to vermeil style beads and charms. Along the way, we have been careful to practice Fair Trade and to give back through Philanthropy. In our newest venture, we have partnered with NOVICA to fund Microloans for women artisans in developing countries.
Meet Asunta Pelaez from Peru. “I create many kinds of beautiful mirrors, coasters, boxes and trays.” Palaez plans to use her loan to purchase a compressor, tools and materials.
Asunta Plaez, Peru
“I follow a meticulous process, carefully shaping the wood to give it a pleasing form. Later, for my mirrors, I cut the glass and outline my intended design on the surface with India ink. Next, I fill the outline with beautiful Cajamarca patterns using paints and gilt. To finish, I glue the glass to the wood and apply a rich golden paint to the borders of the frame. This whole process demands incredible patience and attention to detail.
“My designs are inspired by nature, and by typical scenes from my town and region. I feel very proud of the works that I create, and I look forward to sharing them with more and more people around the world.”
“I feel as if an angel descended on our workshop. We Peruvian artisans are humble people and we give our utmost to get ahead. Our hearts go in every piece we craft with our hands.”
Silver Pendants are beautiful and they can change a life! Sales from our silver jewelry making supplies helped fund a micro loan to Nyoman Sukartini, who I introduced in an earlier blog post. Leah and I went to visit her this week to learn more about her story and how she used the loan. We drove to one of the most beautiful areas in Bali where we were met by the vibrant and gracious Nyoman and her friendly family. As we sat in her family compound enjoying fresh coconuts and fried bananas, Nyoman explained that she used the loan to get back on her feet after being hospitalized for six months with a serious illness. In a twist that women in any culture could relate to, she explained that her husband had left her for another woman, forcing her to return to her parents’ home. She is very grateful to have her silver business as a means of financial support.
After the refreshments, we toured the area in a “Box Car” and visited a sacred spring flanked by an enormous banyan tree. Before we left, Nyoman introduced us to the women silversmiths working on her designs and gave us each a pair of delicate citrine earrings. Her jewelry is available for sale through NOVICA.
I love Nyoman because she makes me look tall!
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We think it’s wonderful that silver jewelry findings can help support the efforts to restore the Gulf Coast. Thanks so much to all you Nina Designs fans for inviting your friends to join us on Facebook and supporting the Environmental Defense Fund. We added almost 1000 new friends and fellow designers to our community as a result of your efforts. In return, Nina Designs is sending a check for $1000 to help support the Environmental Defense Fund and their team of wetlands experts in the Gulf Coast who are working so hard to repair the damage and restore coastal Louisiana.
Greening our Business: At Nina Designs we care about the environment. That’s why we became a certified Bay Area Green Business. The work we did to get certified taught us there are many little things we can do to make a big difference, like switching to non-toxic cleaners, choosing recycled office products, and closely monitoring our energy use.
Give Back Campaign Join us in celebrating our commitment to reduce our carbon footprint by helping to restore the Gulf Coast. For every new Facebook Fan, Nina Designs pledges to make a $1 donation to the Environmental Defense Fund to help clean up the oil from the Gulf Coast, up to $1000. Our campaign runs from July 1st – July 14th, 2010. Become a fan by going to our Facebook page and liking us.
If you’re already a Fan, please suggest us to your friends. With everyone’s help we can give as much as we can to help restore the Gulf to its former glory.
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Jewelry Making Supplies are our business at Nina Designs but our mission includes supporting artisans in our own community as well as abroad. In 2010 we established a microloan fund to assist women artists in developing countries. Through NOVICA, we have lent to women in four countries, including Ernestina Oppong Asante who creates traditional drums in Ghana. She plans to use her loan to purchase raw materials, a drill machine, jigsaw and sand paper machine.
“I was born in the Eastern region of Ghana on July 23, 1968, and had my early education there. I trained in dressmaking but on completion of the course, I realized that the trade would not do well in my town. I therefore decided to learn a popular trade like carving. I trained under one Kwame Duah and within three years I had perfected the skill and was developing woodcarvings on my own. Since 1995, I have been operating a workshop of my own with four people working under me. Fortunately, my husband David Assante also trained as a carver and so we combine our skills to design and carve the drums with perfection.”
“I love making drums. I believe that there are very bright business prospects for the African traditional drum. Though carving has long been regarded as the preserve of men, I am glad that I have been able not only to infiltrate but to also make an impact on the trade. For the years that I have been in this business, I have never had any regrets whatsoever. It is my fervent hope to carve more interesting drums for you to enjoy.”
Bali Beads are gorgeous works of art. We have championed these tiny masterpieces for decades. Now, through our microloan program, we have the opportunity to give back to the artisans who work so masterfully in silver. Nyoman Sukartini is our first Indonesian microloan participant.
” From the time I was little, my mother taught me how to be a ‘Balinese woman.’ In her mind, a Balinese woman must devote her life to God, her husband and also to society. She taught me how to cook and do housework and also how to make offerings, starting from very simple ones and continuing with the complex offerings, because almost every day is a ceremonial occasion in Bali.”
“At the age of 16, I studied at SMIK (Sekolah Menengah Industri Kerajinan) in Gianyar. In this school, I learned batik, ceramics and other home industries for three years. Back from school, I took an apprenticeship with a silversmith in a village where they specialized in jewelry.
“Today I work together with local silversmiths to promote Bali’s beauty in our own way. We make different kinds of jewelry, mostly with sterling silver, in both traditional and modern styles. I was fortunate to find Novica, a place where small artisans like me can share our new ideas and designs, and have a chance to be appreciated by people from all over the world.”
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