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 This is me, Najia, the artist who designs every DreamStonz piece. The nails are real (honest), but I am actually far more attractive than I appear in this picture. I am gorgeous, really. I look kinda like Michelle Pfeiffer. Sorta. In the right light, I do. Actually with NO light we are like identical twins. Really.
But you may be more interested in how I, a trial lawyer, developed the DreamStonz avocation...
In the more than 20 years I've been slaying dragons in the courtroom and winning over the boardroom, I developed a great appreciation for the power of PRESENCE. When I was a newbie, a professional woman was expected to look as much like a man as possible to be credible...blue suit, white blouse, red frou-frou pseudo tie, pearl earrings, minimal make up. I realized that by hiding my femininity, I was relinquishing a powerful tool that men did not have. Just as "thinking like a lawyer/CEO/doctor/engineer" does not mean we shouldn't use our female intelligence, looking like a lawyer/CEO/doctor/engineer does not mean we shouldn't exploit the vast array of options women have in wardrobe to create the perfect presence for the mission at hand.
Change the mission, change the equipment. For instance, when I conduct a heavy cross examination of a key witness, I always wear strong jewel toned suits and statement jewelry. Why? Because my mission is to make the jury hear the question; I want them focused on my facial expressions, on what I am advocating by asking what I ask and how I ask. When my team is in the box, I wear an earthy, subdued pallette with understated jewelry that screams trustworthiness. The focus is on my witness' testimony; I am only there to assist in bringing out the truth. Jewelry is a tool to enhance your presence to be in line with the mission.
The problem is most jewelry is not designed for professional women - it is either boring, cheesy, cutesy, junky, inappropriate, or over the top expensive. Even when we are not at work, few of us are drawn to wearing pink butterflies or little kitty kats. In jeans, we still want jewelry that is well made, won't turn our skin green, and says something about the unique, beautiful, multi-faceted, multi-talented, people we are. SO...
About ten years ago, I started tinkering in designing jewelery in my spare time. "Spare time" for me as a mother of three boys who were then all under the age of 8 was somewhere between midnight and 4am when I couldn't sleep. My first design line was dubbed "Midnight Munchies"; no wonder I gained 10 pounds. Anyway, as the boys grew and developed interests that did not include me, I devoted more time to designing and creating jewelry. Though not originally intended for sale, people at airports, court reporters at depositions, my sons' orthodontists, all begged to buy a piece I happened to be wearing. Everyone, including the universal Law of Attraction, was pulling me to the entrepreneurial leap.
So I jumped. DreamStonz is a venture of the heart. I am passionate about empowering women through education (there will be lots of blogs, so stay tuned), through philanthropy (a portion of the net proceeds go to CARE), and the promotion of art. I am very careful to buy quality glass art directly from the artists. I check the sources of the silver I use so that I am promoting Fair Trade and supporting the art beads of indigenous people. In short, I don't make anything I wouldn't wear myself.
So DreamStonz is not for the masses. It is for women who want to exploit the advantage of being a woman in business settings; for those of us who are not afraid to be different because we are different, who freely express ourselves because we know we offer something valuable. I am honored to design and create jewelry to enhance the unique beauty of every woman who is powerful in her own way.
Thank you for supporting this crazy little thing called DreamStonz. |
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