2 days left to enter K&S jewelry giveaway!!!

Our one of a kind Horn Cuff and Tagua Nut rings were reviewed by Moana Saves and they loved them so much, they are sponsoring a giveaway of a Horn Cuff and one Tagua Ring!!  Visit their blog, check out what they had to say about our eco-chic jewelry and enter the giveaway for a chance to get some new, hot accessories for the fall!  Don't miss this great chance!!

Father's Day Gift Idea!

Father's Day is on its way. How about a quality, handmade, eco-friendly watch for dad?! All our watches are now on sale (30% off original price) through June 30. Take a look! 

K&S Watches 

 

An Uncommon Thread: Knots and Stones Horn Cuff Bracelet Giveaway

An Uncommon Thread: Knots and Stones Horn Cuff Bracelet Giveaway: "Eco-fashion can extend to all areas of your wardrobe, which is why I'm happy to share Knots & Stones through this special Horn Cuff Bracelet..."

Tagua: An elegant and natural seed

Tagua: vegetable ivory  

A very special plant known as “tagua” (Phytelephas seemannii, Phytelephas macrocarpa) or vegetable ivory grows in the thick tropical rainforests of Colombia. This unattractive looking thorny palm has an average height of five to six meters and takes 15 years to begin to bear fruit. From then on, the plant yields three harvests per year.

The Tagua Nut

In its natural state, the tagua is similar to a nut called “mococha” and is full of seeds. It is hard, smooth, opaque, and bone-colored, and its texture resembles ivory. The nut requires between 6 and 12 months to ripen, during which the seed becomes harder, acquires its final thickness, and its color changes from white to light ochre. The ripe nut measures between three and six cm in length.

Characteristics of the Tagua Nut

The features that identify the quality of this vegetable raw material and make it such an esteemed product are its hardness and the similarity of its color to animal ivory.

Tagua: uses and products

The tagua began to be exploited in colonial times when the Spanish settled on the American continent. Since the very first contact of the foreigners with the plant, the tagua nut was used for making buttons, umbrella and walking stick handles, napkin holders, combs, chess pieces, piano keys, letter openers, and other utensils.
Centuries later, the invention of plastics did away with the popularity of tagua. And high quality items began to be made from animal ivory.

Let’s save the elephants by using tagua!

Thanks to the cries of ecologists, in recent years natural materials begin to assert themselves again over artificial materials, and the tagua of Colombian rainforests turns out to be the salvation of elephants.
Present world trends to conserve the environment and the prohibition of hunting elephants and rhinoceroses for their ivory forced great European and North American designers like Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, and Versace to turn to natural materials for their collections. This is why the tagua has ceased to be a humble palm tree to become a valuable product in world markets.

Tagua handicrafts in Colombia

Tagua is similar to animal ivory because of its hardness and color

Colombian artisans are experts in the manufacture of veritable jewels. The greatest tagua artists come from Chiquinquirá, a city famous for its cathedral and miraculous virgin, located three hours from Bogotá, in the department of Boyacá. The Chiquinquirá artists specialize in decorative miniatures (chess pieces, nativity scene figurines), several of which are in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Nowadays, Colombian artists use this material for making all kinds of decorative items: bracelets, picture frames, letter openers, figurines, and accessories like earrings, necklaces, and bracelets that attract the attention of women from around the world.   (from www.colombia.travel/en/) 


Want to learn more about Tagua and other of Colombia's natural materials used in making beautiful personal and home accessories?  
This is a great article from the Office of Tourism.  Tagua: an elegant, natural seed

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait, Our New Collection is Here and Online!!

We apologize for the delay ... a couple of our artisans were presented with some family and health issues and we slowed down our efforts to be able to accommodate the unexpected circumstances.  Thankfully, everyone is well now and very excited to bring to you K&S's new line of quality, fairly-traded, eco-friendly jewelry!

We have some new beautiful rings handmade from the tagua nut and bamboo.  We have incorporated some new seeds and other organic materials like orange peel and guadua into our necklace and bracelets designs.  And of course we have some of your favorites back, like the Chunky Plus rings, in new bright colors! 

We invite you to take a look, browse through our online boutique at www.knotsandstones.com.  Also, through the end of May you can enjoy 25% your online purchase with the code LUVMOM.  Hey, we know Mother's Day is not the only day when moms deserve a special little something!

Green greetings!

Andrea

Take a look at a behind the scenes video of our most recent shoot, courtsey of Cortney Renee Inc.

http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2011/03/green-fashion-monday-knots-stones-jewelry-offers-style-and-substance.html

http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2011/03/green-fashion-monday-knots-stones-jewelry-offers-style-and-substance.html

Win a $25 Gift Certificate to K&S Online!

Just tell us which is your favorite K&S piece and why. We will be looking for your answers through March 18th, at which time we will raffle 2 gift certificates from among those that posted.  It's that easy!!! 

Peek into our most recent photoshoot

This weekend was a very exciting for us, we had the photo shoot for our new collection!!! Our model looked beautiful, the studio was perfect and the photographer was amazing, we could not be happier with the outcome of the day! We are very proud of our new collection and are excited to share it with our fans.

Here are some behind-the-scenes pictures from today's shoot:

"Share the Love: An Evening of Philanthropic Fashion"

K&S was a proud sponsor of this great Fashion Week event, which was held last Monday, February 14 at the Empire Hotel.  The event provided us with a great opportunity to showcase some necklaces and rings from our new collection.  The event was attended by over 1,000 people who had a chance to enjoy some cocktails, live jazz and preview the new collections of some great eco-friendly brands, including K&S of course!

Here are some pictures from the event and a feature article.  You can also check out some video from the event, courtesy of Courtney Renee Inc. (below)

Our lovely Dalmata necklace

Everyone styling our new Tagua rings!

Love oranges and roses? Well, we give you both in our new Rose necklace made with Bombona seeds and orange peel. (left side)