Today on “green tuesday” (yes, a day late – but we just HAD to get this out there before the holidays!) we have an interview with Steff from Turtle Love Committee, a group that featured eco-conscious jewelry from various designers.  I love the story behind Turtle Love Committee and how it came to be!  Be sure to read through to the end to find out the details of our giveaway!  Kelly of Bella Signature Design had lots of great questions for Steff!

Kelly: I had the chance to chat with the wonderful, eco-inspired gals at Turtle Love Committee. TLC offers a unique artisan-collaborated line of engagement, wedding, and gift pieces – perfect for the ‘green’ wedding, and proof that ‘green’ IS fresh and modern, classic & beautiful all at the same time! Green weddings are a hot trend, and jewelry is often one area over-looked. Here’s what TLC had to say about a few of our favorite pieces.
You can visit their website to see many more pieces that are “good for people and the planet.”

Kelly: We love the texture of the Cliff Island Wide Wedding Band with the organic cork design (absolutely fabulous!!) Can you tell us more about what was the inspiration behind the artist’s design? What brought her to Turtle Love Committee with her designs?

Cork Embossed ring

Steff:  This particular designer concentrates on the flora and fauna of the natural world.  She uses that inspiration and collects plants, tree segments, and other pieces of the tactile world to give her creations hints of these natural forms, textures, and moods.  At TLC we fell in love with the idea of using organic cork to press into recycled metal because it’s a completely unique idea, and better yet, no two pieces are ever going to be alike!  You really are getting something very special when you order one of our Cliff Island wedding bands.

Kelly: What is your most popular engagement ring? Will you be offering pieces with fair-trade, conflict-free diamonds in the future?

Steff:  Our most popular engagement rings are the Webster or Walden designs, mostly we think because of the variety of styles in which they’re offered.  The band comes in sterling silver, 14K gold, (and while it’s not listed on the site, we can do platinum as well), while the stone comes in amethyst, garnet, citrine, blue topaz, or peridot.  The wonderful thing about the artisans who make these is that they recycled the byproducts from the productions process!

Webster ring

Kelly: We love the idea of a beautiful, eco-friendly, personal gift for bridesmaids to wear at the wedding and for years to come. We fell in love with a few pairs of earrings especially. Can you give us some insight to how these pieces were crafted, what makes them unique and what customers are saying?

Steff:  I think that people were genuinely encouraged when we expanded from engagement rings and wedding bands to earrings and necklaces.  Not only does it appeal to wider array of customers, but it allows us even more freedom and creativity with the possibility of designs.  I especially love our Minot and Nason earrings – they’re extremely lightweight, won’t tarnish, and are made from recycled aluminum!

Kelly: The Northeast Harbor necklace is also a great piece for the bride or bridesmaid – a little ’something blue’ with the addition of pearls? This is a stunning piece – tell us about the fair trade practice behind it. Pearls are hot this year for weddings and in 2010 – do you have other pieces by specific artisans you recommend?

Northeast Harbor Necklace

Steff:  Absolutely – we actually have an entire line of Fair Trade items crafted for us in Nepal in accordance with the fair trade practices (which include maintaining a safe and healthy workplace, paying a fair purchase price and wage, and creating new markets for artisans to work and create in).  However, in 2010 we’ll actually be launching an entirely new organic pearl-oriented line of necklaces by Heather Kahn of Chrononaut Mercantile EXCLUSIVELY for Turtle Love Committee.  The pearls she’ll be using comes from a small family farm where their production is 100% sustainable and hormone free.

Kelly: I’d love to hear a little more about the inspiration to create TLC.
What was the first piece the owner designed and why? How did she expand TLC?
We’d love to see your artisans available for one-of-a-kind design orders for bridal or engagement or gift pieces.

Steff:  Turtle Love Committee was founded in 2008 by Adrianne Zahner, an attorney who was alarmed by her colleagues’ subtle competition to have the best or the biggest diamond engagement ring.  While working at this large Boston law firm, she also noticed that most of the women she worked with had nearly identical engagement rings.  When she looked for a place to get truly unusual engagement rings, she couldn’t find one, so she decided to make it.  The entire concept was founded on the belief that rings that are chosen should symbolize commitment, should honor chosen lifestyles and honor the relationship being cultivated, not some weird calculus of how much to spend or how big the stone should be.  So Adrianne’s first few pieces were all engagement rings between $100 and $200.  When we realized that people genuinely were interested in “greening” their jewelry along with the rest of their lifestyles, we expanded to include necklaces and earrings.  We plan on expanding further!

Kelly: Thanks so much Steff for the great info on TLC! We love your wedding inspired items and know our brides will too. Any special offers to our readers? And can we still get items in time for Christmas?

Steff: We’ve got a bunch of wonderful things going on right now at TLC, including free shipping until Friday the 18th with a guarantee that your purchase will get to you before December 24th.  If you order Express Shipping (which is $20) by Sunday the 20th your purchase will still get to you before the 24th.  For Bella Signature, we’re offering 20% off your entire purchase with promo code BELLA until Sunday, December 20th.  And we’d love to give away a pair of our Southwest Harbor earrings – they’re a gorgeous part of our Fair Trade line!

Kelly: Perfect! I know Daniela, Bella’s owner,  has the Citrine Webster ring on HER Christmas list! Thank you for letting us know about the inspirations behind the pieces, giving our readers a great discount, and of course, for the fabulous giveaway!

READERS!  Here’s your chance to win a pair of Southwest Harbor Earrings ! Simply leave a comment below about your favorite item on Turtle Love, and what you like about it (the design, the fact that’s green or fair-trade, etc). Optional: We’d love to know what inspires you to be ‘green’ as well! Winner will be chosen by Sunday, Dec 20th at midnight PST, and announced on Monday, Dec 21st.  Good luck!

Kelly