#marchmeethemaker - Origin Story

Brand Origin - #MarchMeetTheMaker -
Citrine Tangerine was born in 2019 when I was ready to start over from scratch. After a good go with my previous brand - All Around Style, I felt it important to make something more personal, individual, and hone in on the energy I feel when creating. Citrine Tangerine is about high vibrations, one of a kind wearable creations, hand made designs, and bold colors.

The name? Citrine, being my favorite crystal and a new name for myself, is the second crystal ever added to my collection. Tangerine, embodying the fresh, vibrant, zesty, energy I feel when creating or wearing something hand made. Thus we have Citrine Tangerine. I hand make one of a kind jewelry & clothing, paint & create vibrant art, and source high vibration crystals to adorn yourself or home with.

The Jewelry - I’ve been making jewelry since I was a child. I’d set up a little table at a park in northern Michigan and sell my little wears to people who passed by. Through the years I’d make little macrame bracelets with vintage glass beads, cord bracelets with recycled buttons, and wrap bracelets with chain & ribbon for fun or with friends. When film photography was not available at the university I attended, I took a jewelry/metals class on a whim. This reignited my passion for hand crafting jewelry. After leaving school and having no well stocked facility to design jewelry in, I decided to follow my intuition working with wire and beads. Why the links? Durable designs and maximal color. Thus we are where we are now. Citrine Tangerine, hand made jewelry with high vibration energetic gemstone beads!

Photography - This is my first love. I remember vividly getting a cannon powershot. I took it with me everywhere but specifically I remember photographing myself, my sisters, and friends. I’d also go out in strange weather like heavy snow in April or trees blown down after strong summer storms. Eventually I took classes on film photography in high school and became OBSESSED with black & white photography. I’d have my film camera with me all the time. I later purchased my first DSLR, with help from my father. We split the costs and I’d always be out photographing my favorite local bands or lookbook fashion visions with my friends. Natural light is my absolute favorite paired with a 50mm lens. YUM! Now a days my photography is about radical self acceptance, documenting events, and uplifting the person on the other side of the lens. Of course I’ve documented countless fashion shows, editorials, and  models spanning across the USA. This is absolutely still a passion of mine and is incorporated into the fibers of Citrine Tangerine

Recycled Paper - This process is new to me but is an effort to complete the chain in my jewelry & art journey. It is my goal to create my own jewelry boxes for purchases and jewelry cards for displaying jewelry & purchases.

Crystal Kits - The first crystal I remember and still have in my collection is a moss agate heart that was in a treasure candle my aunt made. Then The we were evacuating from a hurricane my family was housed in the mountains of North Carolina where we went panning for crystals. This is the place I found the Citrine I named my brand after and is still the crystal I keep with me at all times. It dawned on me later in life, after understanding my deep connection with nature, that gemstones are deeply connected to the earth. These gems are sacred earth frequencies and hold ancient knowledge. The insights I’ve gained in life by developing my relationship with gemstones is unparalleled and has deeply enriched my life. The two most recent gemstones I’ve worked with, Rhodochrosite and Prehnite, have only furthered my belief in the energy within stones. This is why I create crystal kits, to keep around the house, to inspire deep subtle change, and deepen our connection with self through earth energies.

Hand Sewn Garments - I learned how to sew in middle school and my grand mother was always mending clothing. The relationship between women and sewing has bonded me with the needle & thread on a level that feels instinctual. Deeply Feminine the crafting of garments. I love the whole process down to screen printing the fabrics with my original designs. There is nothing more exhilarating to me than crafting something to wear by hand, one needle and thread. Now days we hear so much chatter about slow fashion but who has really been able to stop the fast fashion machine?  Hand sewing is surely an insightful way. How will we know just how much effort goes into making one design from start to finish. Who wouldn’t want to create their own high quality attire? Hand sewing garments makes me fueled connected to humanity on a deep level. Like I am repeating the motion in a flow state that so many other women and human have done before me. This process is like meditation and the energy that is sewn into the fabric over & over again.