September’s Birthstone: Sapphire
Intro to Sapphires I think of sapphire as the king of gemstones. It's available in every color of the rainbow, it's both hard and tenacious, and some sapphires have stars. What's not to love? Formation Sapphires are gemstones made from the mineral...
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My Early Life as a Science Geek
I often talk about how I started life as a science geek. I went to a magnet science and tech high school in Northern Virginia in the late 80s/early 90s. Just today, this entertaining story was pointed out to me, told by a woman who went to the same high...
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Botox for Migraines!
As promised, this is the next installation in my series about my journey as a jeweler migraineur. The topic du jour is Botox treatments. You have probably heard of Botox being used for cosmetic reasons, but it's also a FDA-approved treatment for chronic...
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How Small Businesses Can Help Our Environment
I've been thinking a lot lately about the differences between small and large businesses. Each has its pros and cons. Some of the pros of small business include personalized customer service, the ability to provide unique and customized products, and the...
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August’s Birthstone: Peridot
Formation of Peridot Would you believe me if I told you that there are volcanoes that erupt gemstones? It's true! Peridot is the gemstone name given to green olivine. Olivine crystals form in the Earth's upper mantle at depths up to 250 miles, and...
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Planning for a Migraine
My Name is Michele, and I'm a Migraineur. If you know me at all, you probably already know that I get migraines. Like a lot of migraines. Like 15-20 migraines a month. Yeah, that many. Migraines are a major part of my life. I haven't been able to find a...
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Green Jewelry Studio Practices
When I was in grade school, we were taught that in order to be eco-friendly, we needed to "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." Our teachers told us that reducing what we used was the most effective way to help the environment, followed by reusing and recycling. That...
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What is Karat Gold?
The jewelry industry uses a wide variety of gold-colored metals. You’ve probably seen some of them: “gold tone,” “gold-plated,” “gold-filled,” and “karat gold.” Learning the differences can help you make informed buying decisions. In this post, I’m going...
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