Giveaway Day #8: Nicholas Landon Jewelry

Wow can't believe it is already Day 8! I realize that putting on a giveaway everyday is hard work! I know that there are some blogs that feature a giveaway every single day, but I have no clue how they do it! I would be so pooped!

Today's giveaway comes from a very special shop on etsy: Nicholas Landon Jewelry. I was supposed to do the review first but I was just way too excited to post this giveaway up and include it in my Eight Days of Giveaways Event!

Now ever since I was a little girl I remembered playing dressing up and always wearing my mother's pearls! I guess I just loved the milky lusture of each pearl and although I'm much taller now..okay I can't lie...a little bit taller now, my love for pearls hasn't changed. That's why I was so happy to find Nicholas Landon Jewelry, because they take peals and add edge to it!

Here is a desciption from their Etsy shop:

"Unique treasures of Pearl and Leather Jewelry featuring hand selected and hand drilled excellent quality pearls, cut and hand rolled fine natural or vegetable dyed leather, traditional, old-fashioned sailors knots and glimmering sterling silver are handmade just for you! Creating uncompromised quality pearl and leather jewelry at affordable prices is our goal…we want you to be proud and inspired to wear your unique Nicholas Landon Treasure...as pearls should be worn...always!"

Mickey who is the creative talent behind Nicholas Landon Jewelry is so sweet and easy to work with! She has always been the creative type, even as a little girl! Mickey made candles and decorated cakes with a neighbor, learned to crochet and attempted to sew with her mother, learned to tie knots, develop photography and work metal with my sailor father...whew she was one busy little girl! I guess it comes as no surprise that she eventually became a jewelry designer! Mickey truly does have her hands full because not only does she have two sons but she has two goats, two dogs, a miniature donkey and four cats!

Mickey can't take all the credit for the work, because her two sons, which she named the shop after help make each and every design, making this truly a family effort!I really love how they pair so many of their pearls with leather. There is something so modern with pairing the elegance of a classic like pearl with the edgy and modern leather. A very modern combination.

The item that I am reviewing is the Pearls on 70 inches of vegetable dyed black leather! Twenty cream freshwater pearls are chosen especially for your necklace and strung on a vegetable dyed black leather lace. . What I love about this necklace is that the pearls are not tied down so that they can be freely adjusted up and down the leather in order to create your own custom look! You can wear this is so many ways: a larit; choker; bracelet; belt; or eve a headpeice! All pearls are of the finest quality and they are perfectly rounded and each pearl is drilled by hand! That is a lot of work considering that they have to drill it just the right size in order for the pearl to not only stay in place but to be movable as well. The leather rope ends are not tied together to allow for customization and each end is finished with two barrel shaped accent pearls for a total of 22 lucious peals! This irresistible combination of pearls and leather is feminine, chic and ultra savvy and now that it is on leather, it can be worn anywhere...even at the beach and in the water! Like fine wine, the more you wear your pearl and leather jewelry, the better it gets! Le Lasso will arrived tucked inside a kraft box tied with ribbon ready for gift giving which i love since it's so convenient!

Mickey has so many amazing items in store for you at Nicholas Landon Jewelry! My favorite pieces have to be: Pearl and Leather Bracelet...Le Grand Fleur; Stormy Weather...Black pearls and turquoise on natural leather; Pearl and Leather Bracelet...Le Grand Fleur; Silver Moons Choker and Earrings

Let us get to know her better through her interview:

Name: Michel Johnson
Name of shop: Nicholas Landon Jewelry
Location: for now, Texas.

Favourite item from your shop: That is hard to say…I wear almost all the bracelets all the time and several necklaces…I believe the more pearls the better don’t you know, but if I had to pick a favourite I think it would be Iona…the sterling silver Celtic cross with a pearl.

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

My name is Michel or Mickey, whichever you prefer. I have two boys, which is where the name for our shop comes from and my honey is, Ran. We currently live in a wonderful bluebonnet covered farm community that is between the big cities of Houston and the capitol of Texas, Austin. I was once a teacher, a counselor, and many other things in between. At this moment, I think I am where I am supposed to be...spending time with my boys, enjoying each day of our lives and working side by side creating nautical inspired pearl and leather jewelry. I have a heritage with the sea that our jewelry resonates and reflects with each piece that is created. My father was a sailor, as was my Grandfather, as was his father. I have many a fond memory of sitting and listening to tales of adventures on the high seas and of lands far away. “The Olde Crows Nest” as it was called, was my Grandparents beach house. Besides nearly being my home, it was a place to fish, surf, go boating, crab and play cards...a place to leave everything else behind, to connect with family and gain energy from the sea and its magical bounty.We don’t live near enough to the sea as I should like to be, but it is ingrained in my soul none the less. Someday, I will return to the crashing of waves, the fine salt air disguised in a thick dense fog and the soft sand beneath my feet that secretly harbors’ beckoning treasures…until then; I will live where I am, make nautical inspired pearl and leather jewelry and count my very many blessings.“If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and assign tasks and work; rather, teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea”...~Antoine de Saint-Exupery~...

What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment? My family...they are like nothing else in life to me.

When and what made you want to open up your shop? We opened our shop January 4, 2009. We had been selling jewelry locally and decided to try and utilize the internet to see if growing our jewelry business was something we wanted to do. I had been a buyer on etsy up to that time. I say we because my two boys are part of the business. My oldest is the official pearl driller and my youngest is the one who works the leather. Anyway, we are really pleased with the response we have received and have really enjoyed getting to meet many new people through the process.

Tell us a little bit more about your creation process: I wish my creative process kept normal hours, but usually a design will hit me late at night. I usually have to get up and either create it or draw it. I usually run it by the boys and they either approve it, tweak it or totally axe it. The youngest is really good about axing some ideas! He is probably my hardest critic, but he has wonderful ideas too. My oldest is more of the tweaker. He is singlehandedly the one responsible for the pearls that are drilled extra wide to accommodate two strands of leather. He really likes that look and has tweaked many designs to include the sliding pearl.

Where do you draw inspiration for all your amazing designs? …the ocean and nature as well as our faith. I like really earthy and organic things, but the sea and our Celtic faith calls to me in all of our designs.

If you could be an animal what would you be and why? …a Selkie. I would love to be of the seal-folk and be a human when I choose. That way I could live in the sea and visit land from time to time.

If you could have one super power what would it be and why? I wish I could breathe under water…that would be too cool!

The Giveaway

One lucky winner will win the necklace that I will be getting for review!! That means the winner will get The Pearls on 70 inches of vegetable dyed black leather!! How beautiful is that? You will get to rock your pearls just like me! =) This lovely necklace is valued at $39!

How to Enter:

1) You must go to Nicholas Landon Jewelry and choose another piece of jewelry that catches your eye and let me know in a comment (1 entry)

2) If you are a new blog follower you get four extra entries

3) For my loyal blog followers you rock! And since I love you so much, you guys get six extra entries

4) Post my button up on my blog for five extra entries

5) Blog about this giveaway! Please include a link to Nicholas Landon Jewelry (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5811517) and also mention that I am having an Eight Day Giveaway Event and you will get five extra entires

6) If you make a purchase from Nicholas Landon Jewelry let me know for ten extra entries!

7) Heart Nicholas Landon's etsy shop (Don't forget to leave me your etsy name!) for two extra entries!

8) For every giveaway that you enter on my site let me know for one extra entry! (Current giveaways only! Past giveaways don't count!)

To save you time, you can just say "I'm a current follower" or " I have your button on my blog" instead of having to make different entries! I'll calculate them all up for you! =)

Wow so many ways to win this awesome prize! This giveaway will end on September 20th!

Don't forget to check back tomorrow for another great giveaway!