All Over Albany

Capital Region Etsy: jewelry

If you've been to Tight Knit or some of the other local craft fairs, you may already know that the Capital Region has a really awesome and diverse handmade community. Still, you usually have to wade through dozens of different vendors selling basically the same items to find that one diamond in the rough. And even if you wanted to spend your weekends combing the craft fairs, who has that kind of time?

In an effort help you navigate our local handmade community and spare you some of the holiday craziness, I've culled out some local Etsy shops that caught my eye. AOA will be posting some of my favorites throughout the week.

We start with some pretty fabulous handmade jewelry.

A. N. ORIGINAL JEWELRY SHOP

A.N. Original Jewelry Shop is based out of Saratoga Springs. Ashely Nizolek has a lot of great beaded and silver trinkets, but what really caught my eye was her Simple Silhouettes collection. It has pendants, earrings, and rings that have silver silhouettes of tiny animals, hearts, dinosaurs, pinup girls, I want them all. And for those shopping on a budget (and who isn't this year) she even offers a handy "Gifts for 30 or Less" section.

A.N. Original Jewelry Etsy shop

ELIZABETH SCOTT BOTANICAL JEWELRY

Even though I'm not remotely close to what you would consider a earthy, hippie chick, I still found some pieces from Altamont's Elizabeth Scott to be really beautiful. Most of Elizabeth's jewelry is designed after things found in nature, like pine cones, acorns, honeycomb, poppy pods, leaves and twigs. They are so elegantly done that they defy that pigeonhole that most nature inspired jewelry tends to fall into. I found myself really drawn to the simplicity of the River Engagement Ring and on top of being beautiful, it's made with Moissanite, so it's also super budget friendly.

Elizabeth Scott on Etsy

SAY IT AIN'T SO

Money is something that's on everyone's mind, so when I saw these tiny money bag studs from Albany's Say It Ain't So, I thought they were subversive genius. Who needs to rock diamond studs when you can literally wear money bags in your ears?!

If you need something a little more sweet and a little less sassy there are also some cute pieces like stud earrings with tiny black acrylic hearts.

Say it Ain't So on Etsy

JEMS BY JB AND COMPANY

I'm not usually one for big, chunky, statement jewelry, but I do like The Cuckoos Nest pendent by Jems by JB and Company. It has a really great handmade look with the wire and pearly beads, without being gaudy or too cutesy.

Jems by JB and Company on Etsy

These are some of my favorites. If you've got some that aren't listed here, let us know about them.

More local Etsy finds coming up this week.