Who is behind Express Yourself?
A mother-daughter duo, Elodie and Anne.
Elodie is passionate about jewelry and fine art. And Anne loves lithotherapy and brings her skills in this area to the creation of jewelry. She is also the one who makes your Orgon pyramids.
Elodie narrates the beginning of their story
When I was little, I was curious and creative. Which pushed me to discover several hobbies like painting and ceramics. This allowed me to discover a talent for drawing. Having a few family members with the same gift, I perfected myself with them.
When I was a teenager, I met a gemstone enthusiast! And that fascinated me too. And as I really liked jewelry, but couldn't find costume or traditional jewelry to my taste, I set out to make my own. And in this business my friend taught me how to identify the quality of stones and also how to find the right craftsmen to buy them.
At the beginning, I was certainly full of ideas, but my first jewelry was, let's say, childish. I didn't get discouraged and with the arrival of tutorials on YouTube, I improved my skills in creating jewelry using wire wrapping and chainmail. That’s when steel became my metal of choice.
Next to it, several friends found my original jewelry. This is where I made my first sales without really wanting to make a living from them.
Then my mother, a lithotherapy fan, asked me to make a piece of jewelry for her. One day she came across a naturopath who admired my work. For some time I worked with her to offer custom jewelry to her clients.
And seeing that there was a certain enthusiasm for my art, I decided to sell both my artistic creations (digital and physical with acrylic paint) as well as my jewelry creations. This is how express yourself was born. My mother, Anne, joined the adventure with her expertise in lithotherapy, her passion for beauty and cute and funny ceramic molts.
I hope you will find what pleases you here and do not hesitate to contact us if you want a custom piece of jewelry!
See you soon,
Elodie & Anne.
About our jewelry:
Our jewelry is handmade with high quality materials. Each piece of jewelry is unique and made with care.
We make jewelry in stainless steel, silver and gold plated. The stones are made from Swarovski crystal and natural gemstones.
We emphasize ethics, and we work directly with the local artisans where our gemstones come from.
We believe in jewelry for any occasion, whether elegant or casual. Our mission is to provide our customers with a wide choice of jewelry that matches their personality while providing them with a beneficial touch of lithotherapy.
For this we carefully choose the gemstones that we combine, so that you can make the most of their virtue and their beauty.
We hope you find what you are looking for among our selection of natural gemstone and Swarovski crystal jewelry.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us, we will be happy to help you.
The Express Yourself team
Little interview, the questions you asked us the most:
Why this craze for steel? Elodie responds
I will try to be brief.
Steel is a noble and elegant metal, which does not create allergies like nickel for example. Additionally, it has the benefit of not tarnishing, making it an excellent choice for jewelry.
And as my grandmother would tell you, it has a color similar to silver, but has the advantage of being much more solid and of not causing you an allergy. Before making steel jewelry for her, she was in love with silver and gold. Now she prefers steel 100 times more. To try it is to adopt it ^-^
For'longer explanation following shorter one, 316L stainless steel is an alloy very resistant to corrosion and external attacks. I chose this material for its strength and also because I really like its shiny and modern appearance.
Steel is
- an excellent choice for jewelry: it is strong and does not cause allergies
- an alloy very resistant to corrosion and external attacks
- a material that has a shiny, modern appearance like silver, but at a lower cost
- a challenge, because it is a more difficult metal to handle and shape than gold or silver
Are natural stones your hobby? It’s Elodie who responds:
In a way, yes. If you read my little bio above, you already know that precious stones have fascinated me since I was a teenager. Who knows, maybe my narcissistic side is coming out. I admit that I much prefer adorning myself with gemstones rather than plastic, which I suppose explains my attraction to the former.
What is interesting about natural stones in particular is their changing and shimmering colors, for the same stone you will not get the same shade from one bead to another it will change even if they have all been shaped from the same gemstone. They alone make a unique piece of jewelry!
However, I use natural stones for their aesthetic qualities, but also because I believe in their therapeutic virtues. Gems have vibrational energy that can help us heal our ailments, or attract to us what we want.
Can you advise me on the stone that can help me in lithotherapy? It's Anne who answers
Yes, by talking with us about what concerns you, we can direct you to the stone that seems most suitable. However, it is always more appreciable that you can choose the stone by touching it. This allows you to be sure that it is really made for you. And unfortunately it is at this moment that the limits of an online store are felt. If you live in Vaucluse, you can always come to the workshop by appointment to find the natural stone that meets your needs.
For those who are not so lucky, we are working on developing a kit that will help determine the best stone for you.
If I order from you is gift wrapping included? It’s Anne who answers.
Of course ! We carefully package each order so that it arrives in perfect condition. For jewelry, we use a gift box, you see it in the photo on the product sheets, or a fabric pouch. Each piece of jewelry comes with its own certificate of authenticity.
For decorative objects, the packaging is adapted to the size and shape of the product. For example, for organelle pyramids we use tissue paper.
However, bookmarks, t-shirts and mugs are not sent with gift packaging.
What are your delivery times?
It's Anne who answers
We typically ship orders within 3-5 business days. Delivery times depend on the carrier. For France, they are generally 48 to 72 hours. For Europe and the rest of the world, they are generally 7 to 15 days. However, please note that depending on the periods, for example the end-of-year holidays, delivery times may be extended.
Are you going to redo decorative objects?
It's Anne who answers
We considered stopping to focus fully on creating jewelry.
However, we have often had this request and we are going to try to offer some decorative stone trees for the end-of-year holiday period. But it's not certain that we will get there
Are you going to offer solid gold?
It's Elodie who answers
This is not currently on the agenda. We are thinking of offering vermeille first because the demand for gold-plated jewelry with the same design as those made in silver comes back quite often. In addition, it is a material that pleases!
Gold is currently too expensive for us and too administratively restrictive.
Can I request to personalize any jewelry currently for sale? It’s Elodie who answers.
Yes and no. In fact it all depends on your customization request. For example we often have requests to change the stone proposed, this is possible but depends on what our lapidaries have available at that time. We also often have a request to change silver jewelry to gold plated. It is also possible, however often when we do not offer a gold-plated silver model it is because it loses a lot of its gold-plated charm and often the customers who have made this request are disappointed with the result. The same goes for requests for shortening earrings, they have been designed for specific lengths, if we shorten them too much, the expected result will not be there.
If you have a clear idea of the jewelry you want to have. We can discuss it together. We will offer you a tailor-made piece of jewelry as a quote.
You have more questions ?
Our team will be happy to answer all your questions! You can contact us by email at: expressyourself@gmail.com or by telephone at: +33 (0)782577810.
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