I love jewelry. I have jewelry. But I really know nothing about it. I’m not a fashion blogger so you won’t see styled posts about the latest trends in jewelry. Heck, I don’t even know what the latest trends in jewelry are.
I love earrings and have quite a few pairs, but I usually find a pair of simple silver earrings and leave those in for months on end. For awhile it was my great-grandmother’s diamond earrings and right now its a pair of tiny kids bee earrings. I have a stash of necklaces hanging in my bathroom and bedroom, but there is no rhyme or reason to the collection. Most are running related, seasonal, or just plain silly. Did I tell you my bestie got me a taco necklace for Christmas?
So what it comes down to is I buy jewelry for two reasons – 1. I need it to go with an outfit for a special occasion or 2. I just like it. Sounds pretty reasonable right? So when I came across the super fun and unique collection of jewelry at UncommonGoods I was in heaven. They have a great selection of uncommon (ha ha) pieces to chose from, but the selection isn’t overwhelming. Jewelry is something I usually don’t shop for online because there are just too many options and it makes my head hurt. UG has just the right amount to chose from.
Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, UncommonGoods is a privately-owned retailer that endeavors to feature unique jewelry, designer décor, tabletop items and handcrafted gifts created in harmony with the environment without harm to animals or people. They run all our operations out of the historic Brooklyn Army Terminal, where the lowest-paid seasonal worker starts at 50% above the minimum wage. They make it their mission to support and provide a platform for artists and designers; in fact, half of what they sell is made by hand which I think is really awesome.
As an independently-owned business, they also have the freedom to support causes they believe in and to impact the world in a positive way. With every purchase you make, they donate $1 to the non-profit of your choice. Since they started the Better to Give program 12 years ago, they’ve donated over $1 Million to charities around the world! This means fun jewelry for your and money for charities – score!
My first stop on the jewelry page was the necklace section. Necklaces are fun because you can just grab one and go. I tend to go for simple shapes and metals (usually silver) that will match just about anything. I love that you can filter by whether or not the item is handmade, so that is the first thing I did. And ya know what is awesome? Selecting handmade only decreased the number of choices by 7. SEVEN! That means that 97% of their necklaces are handmade. After that I decided to only check out items made in the US. This brought down the selection a little bit more, but not a whole lot. 80% of their necklace selection was handmade AND made in the US!
The first necklace I came across that I liked was in the Inspirational section. I love how they tell you who the piece was designed by, where it was made, and the story behind it. This Turning Over a New Leaf necklace is perfect for me because I feel like this process happens every single day. In the description of the piece it explains how in the 16th century, people referred to pages in a book as “leaves”, and when they turned over a new leaf it referred to turning to a blank page in a workbook to start a new lesson. Amazing.
Pretty much all of the earrings they sell aren’t the style that I could leave in everyday, but that didn’t keep me from looking. I came across these amazing Phillips Head Screw earrings that just got me giggling. As a bit of a do-it-myselfer I could totally see me putting these in for a little extra motivation while working on a project. Plus I think I’d end up getting a lot of comments about them too.
My final stop on my jewelry hunt took me to the rings. I don’t wear rings a lot but they are still a lot of fun and easy to throw on before you run out the door. I LOVE things that show off my home state (I <3 Florida!) and was immediately drawn to the State Quarter Rings. These unique rings are available for most states and in a variety of sizes. They are handmade in California and are truly works of art. This one is DEFINITELY going on my wish list.
The internet is great for shopping for unique items and UncommonGoods is definitely a great place to start. Unfortunately for my wallet (but fortunate for me!) the window shopping turned to actual shopping, but at least I was able to pick up some handmade in the US items to add to my small collection.
What would you add to your collection?
*Disclosure: This post was sponsored by UncommonGoods. As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
