Welcome to my shop, Natural Gorgeous. I like to say that I make beautiful jewelry for unique women. All of my jewelry is either one-of-a-kind or limited edition. I work with natural precious and semi-precious stones, pearls, shell, and vintage beads. I imagine my customers are people who want unique pieces that will carry some heart-felt meaning for themselves or the recipient of their gift.

I am pretty much a one-woman show: I buy the materials, I make the pieces, I take the photos, I do the packaging.

I am assisted by a well trained husband and a handsome bull terrier. The man makes the post office runs; the bull terrier adds the element of chaos that makes running your own business so exciting. She is particularly fond of destroying any packaging left within her reach (cardboard jewelry boxes are very delicious), and recently chewed her way through 20 feet of expensive gold-filled chain.

The inspiration for my shop is my grandmother Lucia, who passed away this August at the age of 93. She could design and make dresses, and in her twenties she opened and ran her own women's accessories store, "Miss & Mrs.," on Avenue U in Brooklyn. A pretty amazing feat for the 1930s!

I live in the heart of Washington, D.C. I have a "day job" - I am an international women's rights advocacy communications specialist... which means I help organizations that work on women's rights issues in developing countries explain the issues to lawmakers and the public within the United States.