Best of Etsy: Painted Metal

This series highlights noteworthy jewelry selections available on Etsy, the mammoth online marketplace for handmade goods.

To some, texture is the soul of every jewelry piece, separating the artistic from the mass-produced, the inspired from those that have nothing new to communicate, the layered from the mundane. And for Tammy Antoinette, texture is everything, dictating the design and color process.

Utilizing a multi-layered patina course that produces a watercolor finish, the designer creates pieces that are both rustic and beautiful. Stacked brass rings, colored mocha and turquoise, have a weather-beaten appearance, as does her shackle earrings (above). Leaf-shaped cuffs are treated with an external terra cotta patina, with a red tone gracing the interior. New color palettes are introduced frequently, but the prevalence of texture remains…gritty grooves, hammered pockmarks and meandering ripples.

To view styles and purchase, visit the designer’s Etsy store.

Best of Etsy: Knee Highs & Pigtails Jewelry

This series highlights noteworthy jewelry selections available on Etsy, the mammoth online marketplace for handmade goods.

Camille and Sara, best friends since they were wearing knee high socks and sporting pigtails in their hair, re-work vintage findings into pieces that would be at home in grandma's jewelry box, if, of course, her life was drawn from the same cloth as Anaïs Nin’s.

And while many crafters dabble with found elements, we appreciate that these selections were created with a consistent sensibility. All too often, you see a little of this, and a little of that, but no threaded vision, especially as price points dip lower and lower. Predominately produced with raw brass treated to darken over time, the super affordable necklaces and earring sets are sprinkled with colorful Czech beading in dusty hues.

To view styles and purchase, visit the Knee Highs & Pigtails Etsy shop.

Best of Etsy: Jill K Davis House Jewelry

This series highlights noteworthy jewelry selections available on Etsy, the mammoth online marketplace for handmade goods.

Certain obsessions are super easy to live with, like an addiction to Kiehl’s lotions, or Carmex lip balm. Other infatuations can be more complex, but no less satisfying, like the one designer Jill Davis has with diminutive houses. Her tiny homes collection boasts sterling silver charms that sit on rings, dangle from chains and French ear wires. Often she includes a tree, because every house should have a yard, and sometimes multiple dwellings are nestled close, such as the Neighborhood Ring shown above.

To view styles and purchase, visit the JDavis Studio Etsy shop.

Best of Etsy: Neile Butterfly Jewelry

This series highlights noteworthy jewelry selections available on Etsy, the mammoth online marketplace for handmade goods.

Nature on its own is so color-streaked and full of life, that imitation is not always the best form of flattery. After all, why take the humdrum route, simply casting butterflies in silver, when you can preserve them in full tinted winged glory?

Stained glass artist Neile extends the beauty of the butterfly by recycling their wings (after natural death), and placing them under glass. The pendants are offered in different arrangements, with some clustered in circular shapes, and others dangling a single crescent. All flaunt a dazzling array of colors, from the Monarch’s golden orange hues to the deep purple shade of the Graphium Weiskei butterfly (above). Each pendant is framed with silver alloy and hung from a sterling silver chain.

To view styles and purchase, visit the Neile Etsy shop.

Best of Etsy: Linda Layden

This series highlights noteworthy jewelry selections available on Etsy, the mammoth online marketplace for handmade goods.

Numerous designers skillfully dabble in scrimshaw, from Dana Lorenz to Black Sheep & Prodigal Sons, but we give high marks to Linda Layden for offering her one-of-a-kind pieces at such wallet-friendly prices. And most importantly, the hand-etched designs are sweet, from heart-shaped ivory pendants with colorful flowers to bluebirds on dangling bone earrings.

To view styles and purchase, visit Linda Layden’s Etsy shop.

Best of Etsy: Paraphernalia

This post is part of an ongoing series highlighting noteworthy jewelry selections available on Etsy, the mammoth online marketplace for handmade goods.

British designer Paraphernalia paints a very distinct world with their jewelry collection filling its Etsy shop with acrylic pieces screened with vintage wallpaper patterns and illustrated prints. Whimsical necklaces shaped like paper doll dresses, skinny ties and floppy bows brush shoulders with floral crescent-shaped pendants. Somehow it all works. It’s hard to pick just one as a favorite, but we think the batik necklace from the Chroma series is pitch-perfect for the summer.

To view styles and purchase visit Paraphernalia’s Etsy Shop.

Best of Etsy: Christine Kangas

This post is part of an ongoing series highlighting noteworthy jewelry selections available on Etsy, the mammoth online marketplace for handmade goods.

It’s easy to get caught up in the quest for the statement necklace, but sometimes a sweet little something for the ears is the better adornment. Designer Christine Kangas crafts dainty brass earrings that flaunt hand-wrapped vintage fabric beads paired with rustic stones and sparkling crystals. The pieces look antique, yet modern, and decidedly feminine.

To view styles and purchase visit the Christine Kangas Etsy Shop.

Best of Etsy: Elizabeth Scott Jewelry

This post is part of an ongoing series highlighting noteworthy jewelry selections available on Etsy, the mammoth online marketplace for handmade goods.

Many jewelry pieces have a daring flavor geared for nightlife dressing, but the truth is that your social life is just as active when the sun is shining -- lunch dates, museum trips, matinée movies, strolling through flea markets. Elizabeth Scott's jewelry is exactly what you want for your daytime adventures, boasting botanical prints and shapes, some with soft-hued enamel detail. Her pool series has a wonderful relaxed summer flavor, but we adore the petal collection (earrings above) that features hand-cast hydrangea petals with an oxidized finish.

To view styles and purchase visit Elizabeth Scott's Etsy Shop.

Best of Etsy: OctopusMe Tentacle Ring

This is the first post in an ongoing series highlighting noteworthy jewelry selections available on Etsy, the mammoth online marketplace for handmade goods.

The San Francisco seller OctopusMe is obsessed with tentacles, but in a good way, really. She casts octopus tentacles in sterling silver, leaving no detail to the imagination, and then lightly oxidizes the jewelry pieces on the exterior leaving the interior nice and shiny for contrast. Her spiraled tentacle earrings are creepy cool, but we think the ring is the prizewinner. Capturing the suctioned underside of the tentacle, the ring wraps around the finger, enabling the wearer to vary the position of the piece.

View this ring and other styles at the OctopusMe Etsy shop.