Dino Factory and Turtle Love

I have been living in a prehistoric world for the past week and a half, and it's not such a bad thing.

Last summer I was contacted by Adrianne, the owner of a very cool online shop called Turtle Love Committee. She had seen my Triceratops charm necklace, loved it, and asked to see if some other kinds of dinosaurs might work as charms. She suggested a Brontosaurus, and Tyrannosaurus might have some appeal, too. Well Adrianne knows her clients, because before either of us knew it, she was ordering more. And then more. And then, yes, more.

The success of those dinosaurs at TLC has turned my workshop into somewhat of a dino factory as of late. They start off on a sheet of paper and are then glued onto silver sheet. Once the glue has set, it's time to break out the jewelers saw. Many saw blades and sheets of sandpaper later, I have these to show for it:

But enough about the dino charms themselves. I think you need to know a little more about Turtle Love Committee, who exclusively carries the dinosaurs, because this business has so much worth mentioning. TLC got its start selling unique wedding and engagement rings "for cool people," as the website puts it. After noticing that most women have the same engagement ring, Adrianne set out to offer alternatives to the overdone costs-as-much-as-a-car solitaires. She wanted rings that would symbolize a couple's commitment while preserving an individual's character. (As a woman who married in Vegas on a whim, I love this concept.)

TLC has since moved into offering non-wedding jewelry, too. Their collection now features pieces that focus on simplicity. They subscribe to the theory of quality, not quantity—having a few items of meaning, rather than lots of stuff that ends up in the trash.

As TLC took off, Adrianne decided to seek out jewelers who are ecologically and socially responsible (I promise I don't put my girls to work. Yet...). She talks to each artist "about their social and environmental impact, and being friendly towards people and the environment is TLC's core value." But the folks at Turtle Love Committee don't just lip sync these sentiments, read more about their commitment to making the world a better place here.

Turtle love really is a great thing. And so is dino love. I can't leave you without mentioning how much I have learned about dinosaurs throughout this venture. Did you know that the word dinosaur was derived from the Greek words meaning "terrible" and "lizard"? I didn't.