Wednesday, January 20, 2010

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.

5 comments:

  1. Amy this is absolutely fantastic news!!!

    Congratulations! I browsed TLCs website and found your dinos and stylish profile there too! They really sound like a great crowd to be working with, and it gives so much meaning to one's work to make this kind of positive impact and to be appreciated for it!

    Love the bit about what the word dinosaur means too, and seeing your work in progress, from the sketches to the packaged product was such an inspiring visual treat!

    Good luck with the terrible lizards!

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  2. Amy ....these are so cool. How great to be working with such fantastic people. I love the way they presented you and your work.
    Now you will also be known as "queen" of the terrible lizard. I learned so much from this post. Have a great weekend.

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  3. Ha! Your name is Amy as well!! And you have a Ruby! Love your dinosaur necklaces, they are great. I am paying off a huge credit card bill the next couple of months but I will be getting one of these for sure -

    So you had 3 flights as well? How's the back? - mine's going to give in....!

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  4. what a great connection to make...I really enjoyed reading TLC's about page.it is so inspiring to read about people doing it right...and maybe right is the word I'm really in search of...doing it from the heart.

    the dinos are fabulous...we do a lot of dino research here, as jude is a serious dinosaur fan. thanks so much for your kind words...

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  5. I love the Dinos - any mum with boys sort of has to! Loved looking over at TLC too - sounds like a match made in heaven..it's really great to discover new places to shop that leave you feeling good about it! :)

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