Turning thrifted odds and ends into one-of-a-kind accessories, 19-year-old Illeanna Nabess is building a handmade jewelry brand rooted in creativity, sustainability and self-expression.
Illeanna Nabess recently rebranded her handmade jewelry line from Emerald Treasures Jewelry to Illeanna Nabess Jewelry — a collection she says is all about individuality and distinction.
After working at a rock shop in Vancouver, B.C., last summer, Nabess became intrigued when the owner started making her own jewelry. As her boss crafted new pieces, Nabess asked questions about the process and slowly began teaching herself how to make jewelry too.
“I’ve kind of always been into crystals and everything like that and once I started working in B.C., I found that it was a lot cheaper to make my own jewelry rather than buy it premade,” she said. “Just seeing I could make something beautiful that made me feel beautiful, it was like ‘wow this is fun — why doesn’t everyone do this?’”
Some of Nabess’s pieces include sterling silver earrings with tree agate beads; tiger’s eye and lava stone jewels on a gold-plated chain; lapis lazuli chip stones with a gold-plated fish charm; and a citrine and tiger’s eye keychain with a bee charm.
“I just started watching reels of people doing it online and researching myself and it was just so interesting to me,” she said. “Even though the process is so tedious and can be confusing… the after part when I complete a project, it’s like ‘oh my goodness, I have this beautiful thing now.’”
When Nabess moved back to the Ashern area in December, she began thrifting locally for jewelry parts. In bins at second-hand stores, she finds single earrings, mismatched charms and various gems — all of which she repurposes into necklaces, earrings, keychains or bracelets. She purchases other materials, like chains and gemstones, to complete each piece.
“I like to make what I don’t see lots of,” said Nabess. “Right now, I make a lot of one-of-a-kind pieces. I just love making pieces I’ve never seen anywhere.”
Nabess’s jewelry is currently available at Sassy Sisters in Ashern. She hopes to expand her audience this summer by selling at markets. Though the business is still new, she said it’s going well and she’s working on getting the word out.
To date, she’s created more than 120 unique pieces — and she has no plans to slow down.
