Woman of Style and Substance: Tina Ortiz

Tina Ortiz, one of our valued clients and supporters, is someone we truly enjoy creating and making statement necklaces for.  Unique projects spring from her sophisticated fashion palate . Her concepts and ideas give us the freedom to tap our artistic side.  It's also a challenging venture to design for her; as a great deal of harmonizing knowledge in materials and fundamental techniques, to bring her visualized designs to life. For these reasons, we love it when she speaks her mind on what she wants aesthetically. I personally look forward to having clients with a refined sense of style and a unique personality.

Outfits inspired by the Tina Zitro Collection during an intimate dinner with colleagues in Sofitel (L-R: Lara, Tina, Kim)

As well as being a woman with great taste, she's also a person with a big heart. Her recently commissioned pieces are handmade by some of our most talented Filipino women artisans. The “Clustered Flowers” and “Butterfly” were hand embroidered by a mother we've trained from an urban poor community in Metro Manila. She has been beading for Palamuti for five years. With constant practice, and the desire to produce exquisite wearable art, she continues to expand her artistic abilities, while giving an additional source of income for her family. With the benevolence of people like Tina Ortiz, we are able to reach out to more women artisans with similar life situations.

Another piece that we designed for Tina is the “Under-the-Sea” concept necklace, which has proven to be a challenge for us in designing and crafting. As artisans, we've been thoroughly engaged with the process of creating this piece, constantly making adjustments on colors and shapes. This bead embroidered necklace is both a product of her unique ideas and our artisans' passion to execute the design, while meeting her expectations.

 "Lovely! Thank you PJ and Kim for this gorgeous necklace. "- Tina 

We are reminded of sea life as a play and harmony of colours and texture. As such, we've opted to elevate the use of materials by fusing it with our core technique; handmade bead embroidery. We used a variety of shells to capture the texture present in marine life. We used two icons to represent the concept: “Starfish” & “Sea Horse”.  By fusing different materials with seed and cut beads as the main components, we were able to reach a level of vibrancy for this concept piece. 

In honor of Tina's support for our artisans, we've decided to name our latest collection after her. The “Tina Zitro Collection” highlights all of the statement pieces we've made for the woman who inspired us to craft these handmade bead jewelry necklaces. 

March Celebrant

March Birthstone poem - the Aquamarine
"A March born shall always be
Soothed by Aqua, gem of sea
This mermaid's treasured stone you wear
Will bring happiness, love, affection and care."

Photo Credit: http://www.list-of-birthstones.com/March%20Birthstone.html

"Aquamarine, meaning "water of the sea" is a birthstones for the month of March

 (along with bloodstone and jasper). "

 March Celebrants are associated with the Aquamarine gemstone; which comes from the the latin word "aqua marina". When translated,  means "water of the sea ". For female loved ones celebrating their birthday on March, giving them accessories based on their birthstones can be done with style! One can simply walk into any retail market for accessories and choose from a vast selection. However, if you want to give something unique for a very special person, you can have their accessories customized, with or without incorporating the gem stone. 

Here are some of our suggestions: 

1. Make use of gemstone's color, if not the gemstone itself.

"Mermaid Out of Water" Wire Art

Set using aquamarine crystals

"Mermaid Out of Water"

2. Use materials that are evocative of the sea

Painted Capiz by Nikki Valenzuela

Daily Palamuti

Remind yourself of the beach and sun.

3. Commission concept pieces based on your ideas

Child of the Sea by PJ Valenciano

"For those who were born in the month of March the Aquamarine is the traditional birthstone. The March birthstone poem reflects some of the properties with which the Aquamarine is associated - faithfulness, courage and friendship. The Traditional Metaphysical Properties for the March Birthstone Aquamarine are  awareness, quick response and easing communication problems. The healing properties of the March birthstone are reputed to be effective for health problems relating to throat problems and stress-related illness."

http://www.birthdaygems.org/march-birthstone.htm