day of departure

It all started with a phone call on Monday morning. A random number, I thought maybe it was a client calling. But no, it was Air France. They asked me if I would be willing to switch flights and receive a $400 voucher for future travel. They gave me the details and it actually worked out in my favor, in terms of layovers etc.

I arrived at SeaTac airport early this morning, and checked in to my flight. Seattle to New York. New York to Paris. Paris to Bangalore. It’s a long haul. I was sitting at the gate to board my plane to NY and they called my name. I got upgraded to First Class. Somehow this upgrade karma has been working for me lately and I can’t complain. It’s great.

Now, I am sitting in the Air France lounge in NY. It seems strange to partake in such luxury as I am on my way to India, but again, I’m not complaining, just observing.

I am looking forward to this journey, one month in India. A time for me to ponder after a summer of difficulties. It will be wonderful to meet with Kumar and make beautiful jewelry. It will be amazing to sit by the Arabian Sea and make gold chains with Balan.

Sometimes, I have to blink and ask myself. Is this really my life?

The making(s) of a 'fine' gold chain

My trip to India was a great success.. And what I mean by success is; creating relationships, having fun and working hard. All of which I did and all of which were great.

My work in India is multi-dimensional, while it is stimulating to my creative side, I also produce a lot while I am there. I do buying, I design and I make jewelry with my two teachers.

One of my teachers is Balan and he lives in a remote part of N. Kerala. He is an amazing man with a wonderful family. He is 66 years old and works 12 hours a day hunched over a fire to make beautiful gold jewelry. One of my objectives is to learn from him, but another is to make jewelry with him, pay him fairly for his painstakingly hard work and hopefully help contribute to the well being of his beautiful family.

Here he is making a 20k gold chain from scratch, over a fire, using a blowpipe torch and coconut shells. This is the ancient way of making jewelry, it is a dying art. I have 3 available. Please email me if you are interested in a handmade 20k gold chain. 2) 17" chains and 1) 16" chain


making wire


putting tiny solder chips on the chain before soldering


soldering the chain


polishing and flattening a custom chain we made


beautiful gold chains

dreaming of... India

I know it's right before Christmas and I should really be trying to get you to buy my jewelry (so, if you would like some beautiful amazing handmade jewelry click here), but my mind is in India..

You see, I've been invited by my goldsmith teacher's family to perform at their annual village temple festival, in a remote area of S. India. Last year they invited me also and it was a whole mind and body opening experience for me. One of those things that really changed my life. So much fear pulsed through my body as I was getting ready to perform in front of 500 people. I sat on the stage hiding behind the curtain,w hich then went up and poof... the anxiety disappeared and I sang and played my heart out. You can read all about it here and here. It really was an amazing experience.



And, I am thinking about it now, because, like I said, they invited me back, but I am arriving in India on the day of the festival and I am feeling sad and trying to figure out if I can change my ticket to get there, even one day earlier so I can make it half way across India to the remote village and sing sing sing to Krishna and the people of Adikadilye!

Oh, I hope it works out!

diamonds + rubies + gold... oh my

India.. Dreaming on the motherland today.. So I thought I would post some of the jewelry from my work/study trips there.

The first set of jewelry is all designed by me and made by myself, my longtime teacher Kumar and a few of his friends. We make all of these pieces completely by hand and by eye. The traditional Indian way. It is one of my dreams in life to help keep the dying art of Indian goldsmithing alive. The goldsmiths in India are in high demand, but they are looked at as skilled laborers and are paid a small wage for their work. I work and study with two independent goldsmiths, one in the palms groves of Kerala and one in Mysore, a city in the South of India. We work together to make these beautiful pieces and the with the purchase of one of these pieces, you help support these two very hard working, but very underpaid families in India...

Beautiful handmade star ruby ring set in 20k gold and hand engraved on the back. SOLD







simple hammered bands and simple hammered bands with rough cut diamonds sizes 5-8  contact me (info in the right side bar) if you are interested in purchasing or would like more information on these rings.



working with Balan in the coconut groves of Kerala, is my favorite part of the year each year. We sit on his veranda and painstakingly make gold chains from scratch using a fire with a blow pipe torch and rudimentary tools. Our beautiful handmade chains are for sale

In this photo you can see the handmade chain, each 1X1.5mm link is soldered using a blowpipe torch. in order to do this the goldsmith must know how to circular breath.

 for more information and more photos please email me. ps.. the pendant is already sold...

Elis for sale!!

The show is tonight, but I wanted to tell everyone. My Etsy shop is now open again... check it out!!

Also, here are a few photos of what we have been making.

These are called Elis'
They are for protection and to help you remove fears in your life and to help you have good dreams..

They are filled with symbols to help do this.

tikka powder: represents the goddess (within you)
puja ash: represents the god (within you)
fishing net: to help catch evil spirits
elephant tail hair: represents Ganesha, the remover of obstacles
tumeric: for health and also represents the goddess
medicinal wood: for good health

Each Elis has been blessed in a ceremony and is made of pure silver and 22k gold.

They are handmade in the traditional Indian way over a fire. Your purchase of this piece will help support a hard working craftsman and his family in South India.

With the blackened silver chain the cost is $200 without the chain it is $180.

We are also making a few gold chains from scratch, they are 17 inches long and 20k gold. The purchase of a chain goes to help support the same family. The family of my teacher and guru. Please email me if you are interested.

I only have 7 Elis' left. So, if you would like one please email me to reserve it.

Your wish has been granted…

About a week ago, Balan said to me… ”Samia, you sing Bhajan at our festival”. I, said, “no no no”. Their whole family chimed in and after a little prodding. I agreed…

Yesterday, Divya said to me, “Samia come, we go to the temple.” I said, “Why?” She then went on to tell me we had to ask some board members of the temple if I could sing at their big yearly gathering. I thought to myself, that is weird, I had been thinking they already had asked and it was all set up.

So, we walked to the temple and I asked her what she was going to say. She told me she was going to tell them it is my wish (my wish, yes me, samia’s wish) to sing to Krishna at their temple festival. I told her no, it is your wish… She said, “yes yes Samia, it is our wish, but we will tell them it is your wish.”

We walked through the palm forest and up the little roads to the temple. There were 2 men there. The girls spoke with them telling them about “my wish to pray to Krishna (sing to the people about Krishna)”. They went back and forth for about 5 minutes and then we left. I asked Divya what they said and I guess the guy they spoke with said, if it was up to him it would be ok, but he had to run it by the other board members and we should come back tomorrow (which was today)…

This morning we walked back to the temple, we spoke with another man, we went into the temple to pray to Krishna, Ganapati and Devi… We came back out and the guy said to me…”Madam, your wish has been granted”

I will be singing 2 prayers to Krishna tomorrow night…
At the Adikadalayi Krishna Temple Festival
Kannur District, Kerala, India
Time TBA
Please join me…

Keralan jungle

Whoa.. It's been a while. I just got back to Mysore from a lovely week spent in Kerala working with Balan the goldsmith. He made me 7 beautiful handmade (from scratch) chains. I have already sold 3 of them, but if you are interested. Let me know, I can give you the details and save one for you.

Kerala is a magical land, tropical, hot, laid back. The family I work with is so sweet and kind, they do everything from their home. Balan works outside on his veranda, his wife and two adult daughters work around the home, Granny sits and keeps herself busy playing with all the children who come by. It's quiet, it's a slow paced life, but also very simple. I love it. I love being there and realizing my crazy life in the US is not the only way to be. They eat from their land, cashews, mango, jackfruit, tamarind. They work hard and love each other. It's amazing.

Balan has been teaching me Indian goldsmithing for two years now. I have spent about one month with him over that time learning from him and custom ordering pieces, paying him a fair wage for his hard work. Every day, he works 11 hours making very little money.

Here are some photos from the visit. I will post more in the next few days.

Chains, unfinished, just out of the fire
rings (made in Mysore with Kumar) star ruby
Balan polishing chains with a seed from his tree
me polishing chains with a seed from his tree
me holding a fresh cashew which we smoldering in a fire of palm fronds and then ate..