Hyacinth Collection Crystal Moon Necklace

admin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:45:00 +0000

I was born March 23, 1980 at 1:30 a.m. in San Diego, California. This moment of happenstance means that I just made the cut for being the fire sign Aries, a bold astrological identification. This arbitrary timing is also the cause of my birthstone being Aquamarine, a barely-there blue resembling the clarity of the ocean in a place untouched by tourism like Lakshadweep. I find this fire and water coupling somewhat ironic, but take it to be an indicator of the fluid duality of my existence: I am both/and—not either/or—and the capricious conditions of my birth are enough proof for me.

I wonder what the moon looked like the first time my mother visited San Francisco. She was twenty-four years old, unmarried, and had a two-year old daughter from a marriage that didn’t work out. The man who took her to see the seals play near the Fisherman’s Wharf and for a nighttime walk across the Bay Bridge was my father, then an officer in the Navy. The two were introduced by shared friends in a bar at the San Diego Naval Base just months before and were enjoying each other’s company very much. It was on the bus back from Frisco that it occurred to my mother that her period was late.

I wonder what the moon looked like from the rust-colored bridge that summer. I wonder if my mom even noticed the moon, and if that had been a subconscious tip off that her cycle wasn’t following its typical twenty-eight-day routine. When my parents left the courthouse a month later—marriage certificate in one hand and my older sister in the other—what phase did the moon find itself in? How did the moon show itself on the day of my birth? Or when my dad left for Okinawa—a work assignment that doomed an already failing marriage? You see, the moon is a powerful thing. It gives us things of gravity, like wind and waves and the consistent marking of time as a circular, nonlinear entity.

When I wear Yumi Chen’s Crystal Moon necklace, I find myself looking from the moon on my chest to the one in the Indian night sky. The iridescent Swarovski crystal one is as dazzling as its predecessor and accompanied by just as much sparkling bling—from Aquamarine and Blue Zircon Swarovski crystals to glittery 14kt gold-filled beads on a likewise golden eighteen-inch chain. I marvel at their differing yet similar beauty and smile. When the moon is gone from my view, it is gracing that of my family and friends on the opposite side of the earth. I hope the daily visit from this ever-changing orb reminds them of me.

Yumi Chen is providing Feminist Review readers a 20% Discount off anything and everything on her website. The discount code is 'feminist20' and should be entered at the checkout. Might as well get some holiday shopping done early, right?

Written by: Mandy Van Deven, November 8th 2009

Lucky Jade Collection Ring

admin — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:22:00 +0000

By Yumi Chen

Lately I am most offended by one thing, and that thing is cliché. Cliché is so offensive to me because it is steeped in one’s inability to be creative. Whether Jon Stewart wearing a fat suit in order to get cheap laughs about American obesity or trolls who hurl sexist epithets on feminist-y blogs, my tongue goes into automatic clucking mode when the formulaic is, well, formulated. It’s a waste of time and resources, valuable commodities that are often taken for granted by those with the ability to do so.

I was happy to discover Yumi Chen’s designs are anything but cliché. This New York-based jewelry designer pulls from her varied professional history as a concert violinist, professional pastry chef, and mathematician for inspiration. She incorporates her lived learning by way of color, materials, meticulousness, and business savvy in order to make and sell her beautifully unique pieces.

The Lucky Jade Collection could easily fall into the traps and replicate the green, carved elephants and big belly Buddha figurines one finds in every other store in Chinatown, but it doesn’t. Instead, Chen uses a rose-shaped Burmese stone and twists of sterling silver fashioned into the u-shaped base of a ring that is imaginative and inspired. Slip it on your finger and conversation blooms around the stunning piece that adorns your digit.

The Lucky Jade Collection is just one of twelve series of Chen’s jewelry, most of which are given floral names to indicate the enormous variety Yumi Chen has to offer. This ambitious woman is about to open a store on Madison Avenue in New York City. If you’re looking for a retail sales position, give her a shout!

Written by: Mandy Van Deven, October 5th 2009