The Signify Collection: Intentional Jewelry for the You That You Choose

Have you ever wondered where the name "Katya Valera" came from? This name actually has a lot of significance: it literally means "Healthy Kacie." 

Wait ... how? 

Well, in college I took two years of Russian and absolutely loved it, and I gained the nickname "Katya" from that class. And "Valera" means "healthy." 

So back in 2012 when this little business was even littler, it took on this name as an act of defiance in a sense: I was definitely not "Healthy Kacie" as I was pursuing this home-based business in the midst of chronic illness. But I would. be. healthy. Despite everything. 

Fast forward 5 1/2 years, and guess what? I am. I AM Katya Valera. 

As I shared last week, I am finding victory in my quest for health through God's gift of neuroplasticity, and I cannot keep this gift to myself. I want to share this tool for a better life with everyone so that they too can identify the changes they desire and make them happen.

I want to help YOU reach a place of victory through Katya Valera, through the pieces you find here, and specifically through this new collection, whether you are living with illness or not.

Let me tell you about this collection a bit more personally:

 

I am supremely excited that The Signify Collection is finally live in the shop--you can see all eight necklaces right here, and I hope you will take a look and see if a piece resonates with you and the changes you'd like to see in your life.

Calm. Confident. Energetic. Grateful. Healthy. Positive. Strong. Successful. It is all possible!

Rising Above Lyme | New Collaboration Line at Katya Valera

It's been a while since I've had big news to share about Katya Valera, and now for the first time, I have a collaboration to announce!

My dear fellow Lymie friend Kami Lingren of Living Grace created the phrase "Rising Above Lyme" last year and offered it on tshirts. Being the unpredictable creative that I am, the idea of making Rising Above Lyme jewelry lightning-striked through my brain one day, and I characteristically jumped right in and contacted her with my idea. She, thankfully, loved the idea, and thus began a good couple months of planning and work!

I ended up coming up with four necklace designs, each with their own customization options (expounded on below) and each also coming with an explanation of the RAL phrase, making them equally perfect to purchase for yourself or give as a gift.

Kami created the Rising Above Lyme phrase to inspire others on their own healing journey that their story doesn't have to center around a diagnosis.

"Rising Above" happens from our couches, our homes, and our interactions with others in that we simply say, "I will breathe in this moment. I will face another day. I will cherish this laughter, soak in that sunset, embrace another healing heart." For it's together, with linked arms, that we RISE.

Let's get to know each design!

The large frame necklace has three pattern options (the middle is my favorite because it's juicy ... like a lime ... and while I do not love Lyme, I do love lime, so...). Kami designed each of them!

You have your choice of either a silver or bronze frame on chain or a soft green cord. Plus, you can choose the length, so you're covered whether you prefer short or long necklaces.

There's also a teeny-tiny version!

The options are the same for this one, and it is offered at either 16" or 18". Of course if you'd prefer a different length, I can happily accommodate that on request.

While the first two necklaces are more obvious designs, this necklace is a symbolic take on the phrase, which makes it extra suited for those who wish to show support for a loved one living with Lyme with a more understated style.

The necklace features a sterling bar atop a frosted lime green glass bead, and they hang from your choice of silver plated or sterling silver chain at the length that you choose.

And here's what it looks like on a real, live person ... that happens to be Kami herself! :)

The fourth style is also very understated and elegant, making it extra versatile.

A vintage, lime wedge-style pendant is set in a silver frame that hangs from your choice of silver plated or sterling silver chain at the length that you choose. So dainty!

You can see all of the necklaces in my shop right here. Any of these necklaces would make a wonderful gift for anyone you know living with Lyme, made by two people who really get it. While Kami and I are both continuing to heal from Lyme, we will always remember the struggles of our hardest days and wish to help those who are similarly suffering.

To top off the excitement of this release, Kami and I are hosting an Instagram giveaway of the bar necklace and the winner's choice of a shirt from her brand new Living Grace shop! Be sure to check out her shop here for some awesome Rising Above Lyme shirts and tanks (plus another new design!), and be sure to enter the giveaway before it ends Friday night! 💚

🎉 Katya Valera is FIVE! 🎉

Well, she will be on Friday, December 9th! 🎉

I started Katya Valera on a whim about a year after I got sick, with a name that wasn't even close to Katya Valera, and I can't believe it's been five years.

While I'm still sick (but getting better), Katya Valera is still with me and going stronger than I ever (and, I modestly think, better than ever), and I am so grateful! This little business has been the happiest creative outlet for me while I'm unable to go get a "real job" (though let me tell you, I work, as I put it, "an awful lot for a sick person..."), and I would want to keep it going even if I were healthy.

Of course at this huge milestone, I couldn't go without a massive celebration, so that's what I'm doing! There are FIVE huge events happening all week long in my shop/on Instagram leading up to the big day, and trust me: you don't want to miss any of them!

First up is a giveaway of my most popular piece. I first made this necklace in 2012, and it sold at a jewelry party. I was so bummed it was gone so soon that I decided to make another to list on Etsy, and I've been making and relisting it ever since! 

I more recently added bronze and gold versions to the shop, and you can see them all in the shop right here. And! You can enter to win your choice of the three! 

The giveaway is going on on Instagram and on Facebook, so be sure to enter both places for extra entries! It ends on December 9th--of course--at midnight EST.

The second of the five big events is a special OOAK IG Sale of 11 brand-new, one-of-a-kind pieces not in the shop. They're all posted onInstagram and are priced at at least 15% off! Be sure to take a look, because the sale ends tonight, December 6th, at midnight EST!

And the next event ... I can't tell you about, silly! You'll have to keep an eye out on Instagram and Facebook for it tomorrow! Plus, there's still two more big events after that--so be sure to follow along so you don't miss out on the madness! (Because trust me, what's still coming is definitely some more madness.)

 

And as if this week weren't already special enough, this shop (and my other shop too) is featured in the most special gift guide at MoreThan Lyme. 

I was so touched to be included with so many other business-running Lymies, and the intro is the most beautiful, accurate description of what we do that I've ever heard. Be sure to check it out and maybe take advantage of a coupon code you may find in there! 

Thank you so much to everyone who has shopped and followed Katya Valera over the years. I am so thankful she's still going and hope you'll continue to #shopsmall and follow along in the future. Happy celebrating! :)

Introducing: the New KV Wishbox

In October I mentioned that this winding-down year still holds a lot more excitement at Katya Valera. First, as announced a few weeks ago, came the brand new fabric birthstone line featuring six personalized designs. (Which you should totally check out if you haven't!)

And now it's time for the next exciting announcement: the new development of KV Wishbox! While Katya Valera's box used to be seasonal, it's now a monthly subscription box and it works a bit more simply.

When choosing a Wishbox subscription (yep, there are options to fit every preference!) you get to wish for three things:

1- Subscription length: one month (great for just giving it a try!), three months, or six months.
2- Jewelry type: earrings, necklaces, or both.
3- Metal family: gold (can include shiny gold, matte gold, bronze, copper, etc.), silver (can include shiny silver, antiqued silver, gunmetal, black, etc.), or both.

And you get exactly what you wish for!

Each Wishbox goes out the first week of every month, and the cut-off for each box is the 20th of the previous month. So be sure to order by November 20th for your first box to go out the first week of December. Buuut since it's that time of year and any of the above options would make a wonderful Christmas gift, please feel free to let me know if you would rather your gift subscription start in January! :)

You'll receive one piece per box per month, and you get to keep every piece of jewelry you receive! Each piece will be a surprise and can be a brand new design not in the shop, a one-of-a-kind piece, a variation on a design currently in the shop, a piece currently in the shop, or a past piece. You never know!

Sound like fun for yourself or a special someone? Find the best subscription option for you right here in the shop.

And yes, there's still one more huge hurrah before the end of 2016: Katya Valera's 5th anniversary celebration! And we're really gonna celebrate--you don't want to miss the craziness that's in store! So be sure to follow along on Facebook and Instagram and keep an eye out the beginning of December!

New! Fabric Birthstone Designs

Big things are happening at Katya Valera! I mentioned in my Fall/Winter Collection announcement post that several exciting things would be coming to the shop over the rest of 2016, and the first has arrived!

A brand new (totally original, I might add) design that has been in the works for months has finally met reality: fabric birthstone designs! There are (for now) six pieces, all customized to your birthstone color specifications.

First is the single strand necklace, available in a large, statement style and also a dainty, minimalist style.

Large Single Strand Necklace available here

Dainty Single Strand Necklace available here

Your necklace, in either style, is made with sterling silver pendants in the birthstone color(s) of your choice:

And these two styles are also available in bracelets!

Large Single Strand Bracelet available here

Dainty Single Strand Bracelet available here

The default chain for these single strand necklaces and bracelets is silver plated, but there is an upgrade option for the dainty styles to use sterling silver chain here and for the large styles to use silver filled chain here.

Two other designs are available in this fabric birthstone line. First, framed in an antique bronze pendant is a white, subtle floral fabric to let the birthstone ribbons of your choice stand out:

Bronze Framed Ribbon Pendant Necklace available here

And second, framed in a silver plated, round pendant are the birthstone ribbons of your choice criss-crossed over white lace fabric:

Silver Round Ribbon Pendant Necklace available here

And of course, each of these ribbon necklaces is made with ribbons in your choice of colors:

Any of these would make such special, meaningful Christmas gifts, and they're all available in the shop! And as always, if you need your piece a bit different than what is listed, such as bronze instead of silver or a different length, please feel free to message me to arrange a custom order!

Vintaged: the New Katya Valera Collection

Introducing the new Fall/Winter 2016 Collection at Katya Valera: Vintaged! Each of the forty-five bohemian, minimalist, and statement pieces in this exclusive collection features vintage or vintage-style components to add decades' or even centuries' old inspiration to a modern design.

There are dozens of necklaces and earrings (and one bracelet ;) in gold, bronze, silver, and gunmetal in all different price ranges and each with a "Vintaged" touch, of course. 

I am extra excited about this collection, as you'll see why below, and here are just a few of the highlights:

"Laced," available here

"Architectured" available here

"Marbled" available here

"Cat-Eyed" available here

"Gemmed" available here

"Hooped" available here

"Pendulumed" available here

"Jeweled" available here

"Renaissanced" available here

"Victorianed" available here

"Flourished" available here

"Peacocked" available here

"Bronzed" available here

"Eightied" available here

"Regencied" available here

"Petaled II" available here

And finally, my absolute favorite pieces, not just from this collection but of all the jewelry I've ever made in nearly five years of Katya Valera!

These four fabric necklaces are very special to me for a couple of reasons. First, these are my first necklaces incorporating fabric, something I dreamed of and planned for many months before the necklaces became reality. In addition, every fabric necklace in this collection features vintage fabric inherited from my great-grandmother, a talented, prolific seamstress with her own deep love of crafting. I am so happy to give just a little bit of her fabric new life in these pieces and think she would be pleased with them.

"Damasked" available here

"Floraled" available here

"Gardened" available here

"Patchworked" available here

If you haven't gotten a chance to take a look at the full collection, you can find it all in my shop right here!

"Vintaged" now concludes a full year of releasing seasonal collections, my first year doing so. I cannot convey to you the time, planning, scheming, and work that went into each of these three collections: "Reborn" for the spring, then "Drops of Summertime," and now "Vintaged" for the fall and winter (all of which you can browse in my shop). That's around 125 brand new pieces planned around specific themes, designed, made, photographed, edited, and listed. (When you put it that way, it sounds way too simple....) Each collection took months of work and was proceeded by my other new launch, KV Wishbox, my jewelry box that let you browse each collection early and choose up to three pieces at a huge discount, a venture that also entailed a massive amount of work.

All that to say, I have no doubt worked harder on Katya Valera this year (and the end of 2015 leading up to it) than I ever have! And I have to say that it was honestly a blast. While at this point I don't have immediate plans of continuing to release seasonal collections or the KV Wishbox in its original format, I am so glad I latched onto those ideas and went for them; they haunted my thoughts for weeks before they even began to meet reality. My overflowing creativity got some extra chances to play, and it was wonderful.

As if all that I just listed wasn't enough work fun for this year (I said 2016 would be big!), I still have some super exciting new jewelry designs headed to the shop very soon, and I also have some HUGE plans for Katya Valera's 5 year anniversary coming up December 9th. That's right, somehow we've been doing this thing for five years (longer than Daniel and I have been married, which is just weird to think about!). And KV Wishbox may be reborn in the near future as well. ;)

So you most definitely want to stay tuned to see what else could possibly be happening at Katya Valera. It may be fall, but this year isn't over yet! Be sure to follow along on Facebook and/or Instagram so that you don't miss out on any of these developments coming over the rest of the year. And in the meantime, feel free to do some browsing in the shop--it's definitely not too early to get some early Christmas shopping out of the way ... which I'm all about!