"Happiness needs not be perfect..."

Last week I picked up a silver charm from one of the Karen artisans. I was one I must have seen years ago but passed on ordering then. It was a simple flat coin charm with the word happiness on it, but upon closer inspection you could see a slight misspelling.

[Happiness / Happinss]

The letters were not uniform, so there was a good chance that this charm was decorated with nothing more than chisels and a good old hammer. I thought it was wonderful, and it reminded me instantly of everything great about the village. After all, isn't happiness what you make of it?

Featuring Nija

Shiana's featured artist is Nija, a silversmith behind some of our most popular pendants, like the rising sun, new day song, and ying-yang coils.

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When you live and work with so many other artisans, it is difficult to not fall into the same path of making similiar items. Nija and his wife however, seem to have found inspiration in their partnership.

"Like many other [Karen] artisans, I like to draw most of my inspiration from nature. I made flower antlers, and leaf printed bead caps. But it was when my wife began making necklaces for our children that things took off.

I learned alot from her... the importance of balancing the pendants and finding different ways to conect them. We then started creating pieces that would challenge people by using open spaces and jumprings. I knew we had a good design when my wife could use the items in at least four completely different ways."

Nija's charms are easily incorporated into chains or other fiber stringing materials. His best selling item is the New Day Song Charms.

New Clasps

We just came back with a few new toggles and a clasp to help you finish up your pieces. These are already up on the http://www.shiana.com/ website and should be on eBay soon. You can find them by searching for their product numbers on our store searches. For a discount, type in the cupon code: 'march01' during checkout to recieve 10% off these featured clasps. The code works with store purchases only--offer ends 4/5/2006.

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If you're not into making, but into wearing; Try Deevaa Jewellery f0r handmade beaded necklaces and bracelets.