Shopping for a Cause: Cabochon Jewelry

I love beautiful things – whether it be a stunning pair of semi-precious earrings or an open field with lush greens and old trees casting long shadows. This partnership mixes the two. The incredibly talented jewelry designer behind Cabochon Jewelry has generously decided to give 15% of all proceeds at her trunk show this week to The Greenwich Land Trust in honor of Earth Day. I have my eye on quite a few pieces – the orange and brown horn necklace below is amongst my favorites. Stop by, support a great cause, and buy the perfect piece to spruce up your summer wardrobe.

The event is at the home of Cabochon founder Shauna Graziano at 197 Otter Rock Drive on Wednesday, April 22nd & Thursday, April 23rd from 8am to 7pm  (or by appointment).

Q&A with Shauna Graziano of Cabochon

How and when did you create Cabochon?

Cabochon opened 3 years ago in Southampton. I used to design jewelry for fun for myself and my friends to go with certain outfits or for special events because there really were such limited places to shop for the kind of jewelry I liked to buy. What I was looking for wasn’t costume jewelry but not fine jewelry either – something in the middle. That prompted me to open my first store in partnership with my mother in law, Julia Gray. I was looking to get back to work after having kids and she was looking to leave the furniture industry where she had a large company that was too demanding time-wise and wanted a change as well

What materials do you work with?

We work with semi-precious stones, baroque pearls, exotic skins, horn, resin, and metal that is vermeil or gold fill.

Where do you sell your jewelry?

We have two stores, one in Southampton (51 Jobs Lane) and one on the Upper East Side in Manhattan (1044 Lexington between 74th and 75th). I also do a lot of private trunk shows at people’s homes.

What are your best sellers?

Our best sellers are one of a kind pieces we make ourselves. Big bold earrings always sell fast and anything with baroque pearls as well. Lariats are also really popular now.

What is the average price point?

Prices range from $75 – $2000 with the average around $250-$300.

What inspires you when you are coming up with new designs?

• Finding semi precious stones in really unique special colors that you don’t see all the time
• Pieces that could be easily dressed up or dressed down
• Designs from 40, 50, 60 years ago (There were a pair of earrings you photographed, big multi colored resin circles that I found at a designer’s showroom in Paris that she used to make in the 1970’s and we tweaked it a bit and now make them in tons of colors and they have been one of my best sellers ever since.)
• Working with pearls but making them more fashion forward by mixing them with dark rhodium metals or leather and not just gold

Why did you decide to team up with The Greenwich Land Trust?

I’ve been involved with many charities in NYC and The Hamptons where the stores are located. Doing something in Greenwich is more personal since I and my family live here. The Greenwich Land Trust specifically was an easy choice because of the need to preserve the natural beauty of Greenwich and surrounding areas and the earth day event was a great fit for Cabochon as well.

And in honor of Earth Day The Well Appointed House will also be donating to The Greenwich Land Trust. Pop by their Greenwich location at 31 East Elm Street on Earth Day Wednesday, shop and we will donate 25% of sales to the Greenwich Land Trust. In the store they have a curated collection of housewarming gifts, decorative accessories, jewelry and kitchen goods. They are open 9:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday April 21st. If you cannot make it in person, you can also shop online and they will donate 25% of those proceeds. If shopping online at www.wellappointedhouse.com – please use the coupon code GreenwichLandTrustEarthDay15 so that they can track the sales.