For me, the phrase "River Valley" brims with significance. Having spent most of my life in fertile valleys fed by mighty rivers--first the Ohio where I grew up, and for the past 14 years the Hudson--I feel like they are family.

So much so, that in 1999 when I adopted a 4 1/2 year old border collie-shepherd-yellow lab mongrel from the NYC Humane Society I named her Hudson River Valley (Hudson for short), a name I'd chosen before getting to know her, and which quickly proved ironic.

I learned on our first outing, shortly after she came home with me, that she didn't like water at all, and certainly not the river that I'd named her for. I remember she stood in the sand at its edge looking up at me with doleful brown eyes as if to ask, "What do you want from me?" while other dogs frolicked fearlessly and fetched in nearby depths. She'd been at the shelter 

Over the years I tried other rivers, lakes, creeks, and an ocean, but I never saw her in water that inched beyond the silky-soft of her nearly-hairless belly. Thankfully she had long skinny legs to keep her sagging tummy aloft in shallow depths so she could keep a close eye on me while I swam further out.

After a long bout with cushing's disease, and finally cancer, she died in my arms in January of 2007.

The business name is an attempt to keep Hudson's memory alive and also a way to honor the natural places that have nourished and inspired me throughout my life.

*A portion of every sale will be given to NYC's Humane Society and to River Keeper in Hudson's name.

It's largely the beads and materials that inspire me to create jewelry. Their shapes, colors, textures, feel, and histories tell me how to assemble them into wearable art that's earthy and elegant simultaneously, and stylish without being trendy.

To me the best art and crafts are created spontaneously, reflecting artists' moods and thoughts while they are making so you feel connected to the person when you touch or wear their creations. To facilitate this process I shop relentlessly for the most unique and high-quality gemstone and pearl beads, silver, gold, bronze, brass and copper accents so there is an ever-fresh and enticing palette at hand for me to compose from.

And because I  believe in the importance of symbols and traditions, and connecting to what each of us personally finds holy and meaningful in life, I frequently employ religious and spiritual talismans, and folkloric charms and emblems from an array of Eastern and Western traditions and practices--including pantheism, yoga, Buddhism, Judaism and Kabbalah, Islam and Sufism, astrology, Hinduism, different Native American, Australian and African religions, and mystical Christianity.

I hope my jewelry, handcrafts and accessories inspire you to uncover your inner jewel!™

I consider myself fortunate to be able to spend my days  doing work I enjoy so much it feels like play.