Trollbeads Inspiration Look: Pacific Northwest

One summer in my early twenties I lived just south of Seattle, Washington in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It was the only time I have lived somewhere coastal, usually ending up in land locked states (Ohio and Colorado) and it was a pretty amazing experience. At first blush, you might not peg me for an “outdoors-y” kind of girl, but my daily trip to the park is how I recharge, and a MUST for me regardless of weather. So when I arrived in Washington I was captivated. They have it all! Mountains, rivers, the ocean, huge, old growth forests, and fascinatingly, a rainforest climate. For a place so enchanting, I thought- why not make a bracelet?

This finished bracelet is not the first draft (or 3rd) and when I started I had been thinking of finding a Sand Beach kit, but that seems… well impossible. And perhaps that was for the best, because if I had used those beads I would have been leaving out rich green tones that are so integral to the Pacific Northwest. For those greens I used Green Jasper (very Forest-y), the new Faceted Round Green Chalcedony, an Organic bubbles, and an Ocean Jasper (which is available if you message me at support@trollbeadsakron.com). It was still important to me to have some blues and grays, but I wanted to insure that they were warmer toned, in order to flow well with the greens instead of looking like two bracelets mashed together.

For this bracelet I decided to keep the silver minimal, opting for mostly aquatic themed pieces. The Crab lock was perfect because I experienced a Dungeness crab season and foraged for several dinners (highly recommended). While my whale watching cruise was limited to me getting sea sick and not seeing any whales, I thought the bracelet would be incomplete without a nod to these gentle giants.

I am really happy with this finished bracelet. I think it does a nice job representing the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, as much as possible anyway for a bracelet. What would you add or take away? What would you put on a bracelet to represent your home region?