Local IS Better!

72 inch hand wrapper Sterling Silver and Labradorite necklace with a hand forged Sterling Silver "Leaf" pendant/clasp. $210

Locally made goods of better quality for less than the big retailers with all their "buying power"? Absolutely!

For the past couple of years, one of my staple pieces has been a long hand wrapped chain with gemstone beads, usually pearls. Given my affinity for neutral tones these chains are most often a combination of golden and gray hues. They are a go with everything piece, so versatile, worn several ways alone or layered with another piece.

I had been kicking around the idea of taking it up a notch and including a hand forged pendant that could also act as the clasp. Not only would this enhance the necklace with an additional design element it would allow the necklace to be worn as a lariat, making it even more versatile.

While flipping through the channels a couple of weeks ago, a necklace on HSN caught my eye.

http://jewelry.hsn.com/rarities-fine-jewelry-with-carol-brodie-110ct-cashmere-labradorite-72-bead-necklace_p-6519897_xp.aspx

A 72 inch hand wrapped sterling silver and labradorite chain for $249. Those idea stealers! Hundreds of people ordered this very pretty necklace during the few minutes I tuned into the presentation. I loved the look of all that labradorite and it got me thinking...

So I went searching and found these pretty labradorite beads at a gem show over Halloween weekend. Not faceted like the ones in the HSN necklace, but equally striking and actually of much better quality with lots of that wonderful blue and green "flash" that labradorite is famous for. What I created with over 100 carats of those beautiful stones is this piece. A 72 inch hand wrapped sterling silver and labradorite necklace with a hand forged sterling silver "leaf" pendant/clasp. It can be worn as one long strand, doubled or tripled or fashioned into a lariat.

The price? $210. And no shipping. Nearly $40 less than the one without a one of a kind solid sterling silver pendant. A pendant of any sort would have increased that price by at least $25 if not more. The material for the stones was not mined here, of course, but unlike the necklace from TV everything else, including the manufacturing and design, are completely domestic. I didn't even cut the normal wage I pay myself. Those big retailers might be able to buy in bulk and hire workers on the other side of the world for barely nothing but I have very little overhead. That is the beauty of buying local. In addition to all the the other reasons buying local is encouraged...being green, keeping jobs here, supporting the local economy... one of the most practical reasons is that you can often get better stuff at a better price. Now who doesn't like that?

Best of all, only one woman will be walking around with this original necklace which I think makes it all the more special. Will she buy it at Gifted Hands, our local artisan market or at one of the local vendor shows I am doing this holiday season? We'll see.

Maybe there will be two women actually. I am really liking this necklace and it just so happens that I bought two strands of those labradorites....