The Expressive Characteristics of Different Blue Stones

Mother Earth’s bounty of lovely blue stones is considerable, to say the least, but not inexhaustible. And while blue is the hue many jewelry wearers favor in their gemstones — whether garnishing a zodiac necklace, a set of zodiac rings or blue stones entwined within the design of a stellar piece of sterling silver jewelry — their popularity in no way diminishes their beauty or charm.

The expert jewelers at Waxing Poetic would like to acquaint you with some of the distinctive characteristics and meanings associated with a variety of different blue stones, thus helping you pick out the right stone(s) for yourself or those you esteem the most.

The Unique Meanings of Different Blue Stones

Each stone you come across has a story to tell. It could be a peculiar little rock you stumble upon in the desert, with millions if not billions of years of geological time behind its long journey. Or it might be the profound meanings the natural world (and humanity) has imbued in the sapphires set inside your favorite brass pendant…Aquamarine Meaning

Aquamarine, meaning “seawater” in Latin, is a semi-precious stone (but precious to all who wear it) that is the birthstone for March. When searching for its hidden meaning, rest assured, as this stone, with many pieces originating from Brazil, won’t disappoint. Aquamarine has the power to calm the soul while simultaneously disseminating positive energy out into the rest of the world. An aquamarine talisman is soothing, pure, and subtly potent — just like the seawater for which it's named. Labradorite Meaning

Labradorite is an extraordinary feldspar stone. This exquisite gem, which many believe aids in blocking out negativity while shepherding us through significant life changes (as we transform ourselves and the world around us), is the perfect representative of an agent of change. Iridescent labradorite often reflects an array of different colors, creating a "labradorescence" optical effect. These shifting shades are the basis for this stone's association with periods of significant transformation.

Blue Topaz Meaning

If born in November, you number among the fortunate who can count blue topaz as your personal birthstone. This precise gemstone, revered by the Egyptians and the Romans (and now the official gem of Texas), with its glacier blue hue, embodies feelings of friendship, love, and good fortune. Blue topaz is said to clear the mind and ease bodily stress, opening the way to honest communication, and higher positive emotions blossoming out of our connections to the people we care for the most in this life.

Sapphire Meaning

Sapphire and royalty — and even divinity — meld together in the most celestial of ways. This precious gemstone (the birthstone for September), second in hardness only to diamonds, has long represented wisdom and purity for those fortunate enough to be of royal birth, or who owe their privileged stations in life to the heavens above. Because of its association with devotion, blue sapphire set inside sterling silver rings signifies commitment and honesty, which amounts to a promise of fidelity to anyone who gifts or dons a piece of sapphire jewelry. Turquoise Meaning

Turquoise, the birthstone for December, has been a favorite mineral for art and jewelry craftspeople for millennia, dating back to ancient Egypt. For a clearer mind, and a boost in wisdom leading to a more refined kind of introspection, turquoise is the stone to select. Empathy and cheerfulness are also said to multiply when a piece of turquoise bronze or brass jewelry adorns your body. So go on, let a bit of turquoise (like a turquoise and sterling silver necklace) bring some positivity and much-needed serenity to your busy life.

The origins of our brand name: “Waxing Poetic”

People often ask us, what does “Waxing Poetic” mean and how did you choose it?  Early on, when the idea struck me to create and cast our first wax seal insignias, a belief and energy came over me through the pieces that, was, well… “poetic” (even though the name Waxing Poetic had not appeared yet. That is part of the wonderful mystery of how these things happen!).The intention of the seals just inspired me – each was a “signature” of sorts, an iconic identifier, that held beliefs and intention and much more. I was so moved to somehow channel the humble and potent energy of these imperfect, handmade pieces.  Just like the artifacts of ancient cultures, which were not just for adornment, but carried information, there was a through line there that piqued my curiosity.

So I went about exploring how to authentically craft a palette of expression for our community – pieces that express the freedom that we can combine and “author” this jewelry in our own way.  I was searching for the right name, and wasn’t satisfied until my husband (who is a genius wordsmith) said something like “these are Waxing Poetic.” It just came out, like a gift from beyond, and that was IT. Aha!  Waxing Poetic - a name that embodies both the process of how we make the jewelry (the lost wax method) and also the intention behind it (to become more of who were truly are… the “poetic” and harder to describe quality behind these pieces that our customers are drawn to, and that we seek to uncover).We both recognized “Waxing Poetic” as the name of the path we wanted to be on – the path these pieces and our customers were showing us.  Since then, we our brand has stayed true to what these words mean: a “becoming” (waxing) more connected to the expressive and emotional (poetic).

That’s Waxing Poetic! Thank you to all who have shopped, gifted, worn, and loved our jewelry. We hope we continue to meet your inspiration with pieces that you recognize and embrace as your own.

Love to all,

Patti

WAXING POETIC SAYS GIVE A *&%$: Elephant Edition

Giving A Damn

Means knowing

In the most central part of your heart

That while you cannot fix everything alone

You can be part of what will fix everything eventually

And what will right now

Help whatever it is

That you Give a Damn about.

And then you do

Your best.

Here’s why we’re giving a damn on Save the Elephant Day:

Elephants

Value the importance

Of close bonds

Of female familial ties

Of learning between generations

Elephants

Value the importance

Of respect and devotion

Of being in community

Of love, wonder, and seizing moments of joy

Elephant values should be ours.

*

All Elephants deserve our respect, wonder, love, and when necessary, our protection.

Historically, humans haven’t done so well in this regard. Elephants worldwide are in trouble because of poaching, habitat fragmentation or fragmentation, and other careless human actions. But we can help change this. We can choose to Give A Damn.

By hand, by heart, and always true

A Story of MakingBy Hand

Each Waxing Poetic design begins and ends, quite literally, by hand.

By Hand? Really? Yes.

All our designs start by hand. As in drawn, sketched, outlined, doodled, painted (really, it has happened more than once) or even described with words, written out or otherwise rendered by hand, on the drawing board. Or notebook. Or sometimes sketchbook. Or even possibly a napkin. Or tablet. Or iPad. Whatever it is, we draw it out first.  Once we like where a concept is going, we refine the design and send it to our dear friends and artisans in Bali.By Heart

In addition to being one of the most overwhelmingly beautiful places in all the world, Bali is a jewelry designer’s dreamland, home to a tradition of metalsmithing that can be traced back centuries, if not a millenium. Silversmithing is a revered practice and valued trade, and most artisans come from families who have been part of the practice for generations. There is an implicit poetry to the work -- from carving detailed designs into wax to casting pieces to painstaking attention to detail in finishing a design that was apparent to us from our very first collaboration. We are honored to have our designs felt, understood, and translated into being by such beautiful spirits. Balinese silversmiths, or “pandai parak” in Indonesian, are incredibly skilled and internationally regarded as some of the most dextrous, gifted silver artisans in the world. The term “pandai” itself reflects this truth -- it translates as both a noun (metalsmith) and a host of adjectives (clever, skillful, gifted, proficient, resourceful, ingenious and versed, to name a few), and their work itself is proof. Speaking of proof, ‘proof’ is another word for a prototype or sample design. The proof-process feels pretty magical on our end. We send concepts and drawings digitally across the globe and a few weeks later, wonderful little packages containing realized jewelry dreams arrive. What happens in between though is even more magical -- designs literally become jewelry with the help of many sets of hands and hearts.

There’s an old saying that wax, as a material, always tells the truth. It makes sense -- wax impressions catch uncanny details, early sound recording technology relied on wax, and wax document seals were the standard of trust for centuries. Waxing Poetic isn’t just our name, in a way, it describes the very process by which our designs become.Once a Waxing Poetic design arrives in Bali, it soon makes its way to artisan wax carvers, who interpret the 2D rendering into wax with precision tools , translating and our lines and shapes into physical reality. Next, casting artisans take over, a cast gets made, molten Silver poured, cooled, and then the piece is almost ready. Another team of wondrous people refine the next phase of work, adding proprietary treatments which give Waxing Poetic jewelry its particular and recognizable finish, and then, with great care, each new piece is gently wrapped and sent back to California for inspection and approval. Sometimes a proof sample is everything we hoped for in one go, other times we open a package and realize an idea needs to evolve before it makes its entrance as a finished piece of Waxing Poetic jewelry.We trust our artisans implicity, and work together in joyous community to realize our creations. It literally takes a village (if not more accurately a few) to make our jewelry, and we hope the hearts and hands who help make it possible resonate with every piece.

Little Goes Far Violet Collection

We’ve been in love with violets for a long time. Their shape, their associated symbolism (memory, devotion, faithfulness, innocence, emotional depth, empathy, and spiritual yearning) , and the fact that they’re probably the most irrefutably feminine of flowers (sorry peonies, we love you too) would be enough to inspire us, but when we read poet and naturalist Diane Ackerman’s book Natural History of the Senses and learned that violets have an almost magical quality that distinguishes them from all other flowers, we got swoony. Simply put -- nature gave violets a unique and memorable gift -- there is a chemical property in violets that causes a delay in human scent perception. When you smell a violet, your brain can’t process it for a few seconds, and so every time you inhale their fragrance, you are actually inhaling a memory.

We hope these little wearable reminders, like the violets which inspired them, go far and long in your hearts and memory.

Save The Elephants

Launching next month: #BeeSaved -  a Give-back collection to benefit Save the Elephants 

“I traveled to the Masai Mara, Kenya last year,  and my time spent observing the elephants, and visiting the fine folks at Save the Elephants in Nairobi, left an indelible mark on me.  Their Elephants and Bees project specifically inspired me, and I knew I wanted to try to tell the story of the positive impact of a project like this on the human/elephant  conflict crisis.” - Founder Patti Pagliei

Next month, we’ll launch two designs that we hope will bring awareness to the project, and resonate with our customers, conservationists, elephant lovers and advocates beyond. See a sneak peek below.

A rare bird indeed, just like you

We love to design. We love the unique, the intentional, the rare. Introducing our new Signature Series. Patti dreams up something special, and we hand craft it in a limited quantity, delivering to you something we hope will be treasured and valued. For Keeps. For Joy!Each Limited Edition Signature Series style is inset with poetry, bears our founder’s signature on the back, and is only available for a short time only, or until our supply is gone. 

“We have been fans of the hummingbird for some time, and chose this magical bird as the first in our Signature Series because it is one of the most beloved and enduring representations of a free and beautiful, yet purposeful (read: Poetic) existence.  The hummingbird reminds us that the sweetest nectar lies within, and that the journey to discovering this self, this energy and knowing, and healing can and should be made with grace and ease. The dream we dare to have is just this: to be present, alive, and conscious in every moment, like this little bird.  To embrace the new beginnings that are the promise of each new day, and to live them fully. ”

New Spring/Summer 2019 Collection

With the New Year upon us, we’d like to present a preview of some of our favorite new collections you’ll want to have.

A certain kind of Wonder

Our new Lyric & Lore collection – today’s magic, tomorrow’s treasuresLove whatever happens

Amor Fati – a love of fate.  That one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backwards, not in all eternity. To not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it…. but love it.A Spirit endures

Our High Vibes and Beginning of Wisdom charm collections are inspired by the acceptance of individualism and the openness of the 70’s.You are Becoming

New additions to our Kristal collection for your journey – meet the stunning Moonshadow pendant and Eclipse bracelet, inspired by celestial phenomenon and phases of our goddess Moon. Get Grounded

Designed with respect to the restorative and directional energies of the earth, our new Touchstones pendants and Grounding Rings are cut and cleansed by hand, ready to boost your intuitive powers.A connection to Nature

Natural color that release the earth’s benefits – meet our Higher Ground strands and Little Clipper necklaces – just clip your beloved Poetic pieces on and layer them up.

Happy New Year!

The New Year of 2019 is upon is, and I have been internally noting many things that I wish to let go of, and equally many things that I’d like to bring into and cultivate in my own life.

The problem is: I tend to not keep my resolutions, not because I don’t want to, say, “get organized” in the New Year (or “spend more time with my family,” or “travel more,” or “eat better,” etc. etc.) but because I simply get swept up in living.

So, to help keep myself on track, I thought that I’d start a new tradition this year and let some of my favorite Waxing Poetic designs inspire my 7 New Year’s resolutions (because 7 is my lucky number) – this way, I can wear them all year long, and be reminded of the commitment I have made to myself.

7 Poetic New Year Resolutions for 2019 + Sneak Peek      I hope my resolutions, in turn, might create a spark for crafting your own resolutions.

We can use our Waxing Poetic pieces as reminders of who we already are (because we made the resolution), and who we might become (because we will put this into practice every time we wear the piece).

Please share with us your Poetic Resolutions, and help us keep each other on track and bring more poetry to life in 2019.

 Love to all in the New Year ahead,  

Patti