Organic Jewelry by Allie

Organic Jewelry by Allie, colorful eco jewels giving back

Hola amigas and welcome to my shop! My name is Allie Thornton, designer of Organic Jewelry by Allie. I am glad that you stop by here!

I create colorful eco jewels, giving back. My customers feel empower with statement jewels and knowing 10% percent of the sales give back in education to orphan girls in Ecuador.

I truly believe a girl who grows with love and education will become a successful and useful woman for her community. Wearing my jewels you have the power to become a hero and change a little girl 's story.

I am not minimalist, subdue or neutral. I am latina, colorful, expressive and love to leave a mark in every first impression.

The woman that loves my organic jewels, is not minimalist either, contrary she is bold and unapologetic , for her more is more and enjoys to wear colorful,unique jewels.

But , If you are a little shy, our statement jewels, will make you feel confident, adventurous, positive and able to take risks and make new friends in new situations.

Finally , the artisan woman who works in our designs in Ecuador have the freedom to work from home and raise their families with economic independence.

We strive to empower women with our sustainable jewels, from their wearers, to the makers. Our customers are being part of a bigger movement, they support conscious fashion.

OUR INSPIRATION:
My inspiration does not come from trends born in fashion capitals like New York or Paris to create contemporary jewels, but from the natural world surrounding us , its shapes, colors and seasons. Our designs are inspired in nature and nature ethically sourced. I create designs with natural symbolism resembling rainforest flowers and animals and our colorful palette is inspired in the color explosion found in thriving ecosystems.

A visit to Scripps Ranch Oceanography institute in La Jolla, brings me home with a lot of palette ideas inspired in the colors I saw at the coral reefs. A travel to the Amazon rainforest and the shapes and colors I witness in the flora and fauna is translated in colorful botanical iconographic designs.

OUR MEDIUMS:
The media used in my jewelry is organic and come either from sustainable harvested Amazon rainforest seeds, and nuts, or are recycled repurposed materials like wood coming from wine barrels from CA wine country where I have my residence.

This is promoting sustainability and preservation of rainforest trees for their economic value of producing seeds for jewelry. My philosophy is, if we give the rural and rainforest communities an economic reason to preserve the trees, because the seeds and nuts are giving eco friendly jobs and income, these communities will become the first guardians of the rainforests.

For threading and weaving I prefer to use cotton, raffia, hemp, straw and other organic fabrics or hypoallergenic mediums over metal chains .

For leather I use either leatherette or ethical leather, recycling the skin of the tilapia fish farmed for food production in Ecuador and Brazil.

We are cruelty free, the tagua nut used in my jewelry is the alternative against animal ivory due its ivory milky color, and is known as "Vegetable Ivory" we are so blessed that the vegan ivory grows in the trees, in Ecuador and Colombia , and our jewels create awareness about elephant protections and the fact that we need to stop the killing of elephant herds just because the humanity think "animal ivory" is a luxury. As educated consumers we must support its vegan alternative.

The dies that give color to our ivory nut and produce our characteristic colorful jewels are also organic from earth and plant dies, and when dying the environment and the rivers are preserved against chromium contaminants, our design are produded in small batches leaving small carbon footprint in the environment.

The metals I use in my jewels hooks and posts are ethically sourced , we use only Canada of American vendors who have commitment with clean mining practices free of mercury and respecting the well being of the miners taking out the metals from the mines.

OUR INMIGRANT ORIGINS AND MISSION:

I was a journalist, with a bachellors degree in Archeology and Anthropology and worked for the Anthropological Museum of the Central Bank in Ecuador. Due my professional background, I always have admired the meaning our ancient cultures give to the seeds and its spiritual value and this "Selva Culta" knowdledge is still present in our rainforest ethnic groups.

When I moved to America in 2005, I moved for love. You can have everything in live, but if you dont have love , you have nothing. I fall in love with John Thornton , a firefighter in San Diego, CA and started in a new country, a total new adventure. I have been lucky to follow my heart and find mine own path.

My beginning in America was not different from other inmigrants stories. Besides volunteering at the Archaeological Center in San Diego, I started a small business showing in the local farmers markets around San Diego, CA, the artisan handicrafts from my country.

In 2009 the live presented me with a trip that changed my mission and vision in life and gave a sense of purpose to my life.

I was doing acquisitions in a small village of tagua artisans in Manabi, Ecuador. It was a time also of one of the most destructive “El Nino” rainy seasons, during a photo shooting of the tagua rainforest trees , I have to drive around rural agricultural towns and discovered that everything was under water, entire villages, rice crops, potato farms, cows and ranch animals where also floating in surreal lakes caused by the flood of rivers and the roads connecting to the city centers where flooded with water.

That was my Aha! moment because something dawn on me. I realized like in the case of banana , fruit that is an Ecuador exportation staple, which grows in trees, the tagua nut also grows in tall palm trees and under a heavy rainy season, these are the few crops that can be safe and if people have other income like the crafting of tagua jewels, they can survive the lost of their harvest during bad rainy, El Nino seasons.

From that specific turning point , decided to commit my life to the mission of creating awareness about organic jewelry and its important role in the preservation of rainforest and the creation of alternative Eco jobs that can provide a side income to families totally dependent on solely agriculture.

OUR CORE VALUES AND BUSINESS MODEL:

Our fair price model give independence to the woman artisan who does not work in sweat shops , but from home and receive for each piece the fair value she wants to receive for her work.

When I opened my first booth in one of the Plazas at Old Town San Diego, I needed to dress like the protagonist of "Gone with the Wind" and make my own jewelry in front of the tourists. That is how I started to hand made my jewelry. I traveled back to Ecuador and for a month learned from artisan women, ancient beading techniques I share in my jewelry, like weaving, macramé, knotting, and crocheting . I am always learning new jewelry techniques.

I value and pay a fair value to each person who works in my designs, because I am not only a designer , I am also artisan , who knows how much time, effort and skills and actually love , takes another artisan to work in my creations.

I believe business is not divorced from ethics, integrity , fairness, generosity, environmentalism and community involvement and this business model makes a difference not only for the makers but for the customers who appreciate and enjoy our sustainable jewels.

I have been creating slow jewelry before the slow fashion movement became a trend. The process or dry, die, harden and polish a raw nut harvested from a tree is not fast, it takes up to 6 months for a nut to dry, 2 weeks to dry the colors, days and countless hours of beading, carving , polishing and finally treating or curating the nuts so they get curated like wood and protected against bugs and humidity changes. We don’t cut roads or steps in our artisan production, and because we warranty our jewelry will last to the next generations our prices are not cheap, are fair because they take in accounts the time we expend in this slow and fair natural jewels.

OUR CHARITY WORK AND VISION FOR THE FUTURE:

We release every year meaningful collections, trying to create with art, awareness, about climate change, ocean conservation, deforestation and environmental issues that involves us all, giving our customers the power to create a powerful impact with their fashion choices.

We are currently active donors and members of Defenders of Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy, Ocean Conservancy, Center of Biological Diversity, The Rainforest Foundation and National Wildlife Federation because these ONGs share our commitment for nature conservation, protection of rainforest and biodiversities against deforestation .

In the future I envision our brand name, leaving a legacy for others. At the end of our lives the value of a person is not in how much money that person left in the bank or in the stock market, but in the lives that person touched in a positive way.

We will continue with our "Operation Girl Empowernment" charity work, giving Barbie dolls and school supplies to orphan girls in Ecuador, but we want to give also scholarships to those girls. We need a village to raise a girl and we can acomplish this only with the support of conscious customers like you.

My kids have fur, and all have been rescued, that is why I am so comitted with Animal Rescue in USA. We create every year new designs for our Animal Rescue line designed for animal lovers “You rescued Me” which promotes animal rescue and donates 30% of the sales to provide food to our local rescue places , but we want to be able to pay large veterinary bills to save an abandoned or abused pet’s life when is needed.

We will continue creating and promoting with passion our Nature inspired, sustainable jewels, until Organic Jewelry by Allie, becomes known , by a word of mouth promoted by our loyal customers, our best ambassadors, and we became the jewelry option between people living an sustainable lifestyle, and between those conscious shoppers who love ethical, unique and mission driven jewelry.

How is your life today? Are you happy or do you need a mood lifter? The tropical, vacation, natural feeling of our jewels , will transport you to a special moment in your life, a visit to the Amazon rainforest, to Alaska, or that paradise island where you did tons of exploration, and adventures.

To that bar hut in the Caribbean or South American beaches, where you danced barefoot salsa rithms on the sand, with a Mojito in hand, under a sky full of stars. Think about it! Even in a rainy, dark day, our colorful jewelry will bright up your day and will make you smile.

Empower yourself with ecojewels giving back and promoting rainforests conservation.
Let's start to put Organic Jewelry by Allie in your life!

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