When people ask me about what we do here at Waxing Poetic, I talk about the look of the jewelry for sure, but most often, I start with the “why” behind the jewelry.

At the time I cast the first wax seal back in 2001, the feeling that it evoked seemed to symbolize a somewhat forgotten and much needed form of communication. It was a time-honored, sacred and personal way to mark something – a way to bridge the gap between the old and new; between moments and milestones; between people; between meaning and adornment. Something lasting, something true, not a fad or trend.

As our company evolved, these little pieces gave way to larger expressions… reminders, both in process and form, of so many things we hold dear, but also of our collective experience, and our connection to each other: we realized, even as product combinations take on as many forms as there are individual people, that we are the through line in life. We truly are one, in all of our beautiful facets. We are all poetic by nature, and these pieces are extensions of ourselves.

It is in this range of life experience, through each happening, each moment, each “piece,” that we uncover not only our individual selves, but also a great truth: this is what the human experience is really meant to be, and, incidentally, why we’re in business… to be present to the moments that create our unique lives, and come closer to our unity as a result of noticing it. This is our everything.

We’re in business to celebrate our collective beauty, our truths and the expression of all of it… our journey. We’re in business to deeply understand the world we live in, to live it fully, and to love it that much more.

When we work together, and we connect on this level, we reveal something about ourselves to each other, and this connection makes the world a little smaller (and the moment so very, very beautiful). This is our life, all of us, separately, and together, in bond and magnitude.

We are so grateful to be in this world together, in this business of life, where underneath all of the distractions, problems, and surface concerns, person by person, and piece by piece, we get to grow in love and a continual discovery and understanding of who we really are.

“Our life is the sum total of all the decisions we make everyday, and those decisions are determined by our priorities.” – Myles Munroe

We are all makers of something. Each one of us. That something is anything and endless. Big or small. A literal object to an abstract idea, from a thoughtful birthday card to a long, guiding manifesto to live by. From a newly made memory to making a home a place for our family. We make things all the time. We make something new each and every day.

To make is “to form (something) by putting parts together or combining substances; constructing; creating”. It can take just a few moments to make something or it may take years. The quality is relative and the sentiment is vast. To make is a universal truth that cuts through the culture of today and grabs us at our essential core.

What we make has meaning.

Most of our jewelry is made in Bali, Indonesia – one of the only regions today that makes a worthy living off of ancient crafts and traditions like silversmithing. The quality and care given to each piece is unmatched.

Employees who make our jewelry are cared for. This is of the utmost importance. The business is professional and fair, and the craft of silversmithing is protected. The facility has been around for over 20 years, and many employees have been there for more than 10 years. 125 employees work in the main offices in Bali in departments that range from casting and stonework to packaging, orders and quality, and the office management. Another 125 employees or so work remote in surrounding areas. Many of the employees are family members.

Craftsmen and women are cross trained to unify and help each other in illness or over religious holidays. And most of the employees are trained in bead work in case he/she chooses to take the overflow work home to make extra money, or if a mother would like to stay home with her children and make an income. The wages are fair and the integrity is high.

Recycled materials are used while other materials are reused. And the decision to purchase new technology or machinery is weighed by how much it helps with efficiency and speed without compromising skill and the human touch. Human touch and craftsmanship will always be what we value most. Skill sets are prioritized and cultivated, and every stage is carried by human hands.

Handmade chains are made of silver that was rolled into a wire that is twisted and spiraled. Other pieces start as hand carved wax to create the original model and then hand sanded and polished after casting. One design is a two-tone single piece of silver with either brass or bronze. This isn’t easy. We relish doing this for quality, to create truly unique and beautiful pieces with detailing that matters. Notice jewelry around you and you’ll see that most pieces like this are separate. To smolder brass pieces onto silver, or silver onto brass, requires a high skill-set that many other companies don’t care to do.

Our jewelry is made up of decisions big and small, and years of practice. Our jewelry is a symbol of the profound simplicity in making something with value and integrity. We, like you, are makers. We honor this in everything we do.

We make meaning from the jewelry we wear. It comes with us throughout all of our days and becomes a part of the whole of our lives.

What we make matters.

Celebrate the Journey

We believe in adventure
And possibilities
In great loves and in small (or large) miracles
In wonder and discovery
And in finding those things
Closer than we expected & often
(To our delight and amazement)
Within one another and ourselves

We believe in quests of greatly varying scale
In true heroines and heroes
In honoring our origins as much as finding
(and sometimes writing) our own ways
In paying attention to particular details
& keeping open eyes for the ones we do not recognize yet
as beautiful (but we will)

We believe in leaving markers
In making meaning
In sharing coded messages
In entrusting one another with our hearts
And collaborating on our courses
Through life and everything therein

In being brave enough
to take risks
to ask forgiveness
and to remember to laugh
to ask to help
to love abundantly and often
to be gentle and just
and in all of this to
Celebrate the Journey

WAXING POETIC came into being, as one might expect, by assembly, experiment, love, tradition, and chance. And sisters. Specifically, Patti and Lizanne. But first, some backstory… Patti was the arty one in Joe and Rita Pagliei’s brood of four wonderful children: a beauty, a beloved son, a slightly risky and sometimes impulsive artist (guess who?), and a brilliant, holds-it-altogether voice of reason (Lizanne).

Raised by savers (both in the figurative and literal sense) and perpetual storytellers, Patti and Lizanne share a reverence for intimate narratives, invented traditions, saints of all sorts, and the alchemy that happens when these fuse with devotion, wonder, love, and invention. In 2001, in tandem with a variety of other projects, they decided to take a risk, collect some friends, pray, and make a go of it. Waxing Poetic is the ever-evolving result of that process.

Thank you for coming along for the ride.