On this week's Giveaway Live, we launched our new semi-precious stone collection in labradorite — and this one's personal. It's built around a piece I designed almost 18 years ago, one of the very first bestsellers of this whole brand, that I brought back for this launch. Labradorite is a natural stone straight from the earth, and it's considered a "fire stone" — move it around and it catches light and color in a way that photographs never quite capture.
As always, we made it a giveaway: comment on the post with something you're celebrating or looking forward to — a dinner, a birthday, plans with a friend — tag them, like, and share, and you're entered to win.
Then it was time to invite real people live and build them a stack from the new collection.
Our first guest, Carrie, an Air Force service member stationed in Colorado Springs, joined us mid-errand and got the honor of being the very first person gifted a piece from the new collection. We styled her in the small version of that original 18-year-old design, the Tessa Necklace, a classic Baroness Tennis Necklace, the She's An Icon Moon Necklace, and a statement earring from the Jaguar collection. Her advice: talk to yourself positively, keep the negative noise out, and write down your goals — both the short-term ones and the long ones — because the short wins are what make the big picture feel possible.
Our second guest, joined us from Nashville while running errands for her mom. She also gave us a great piece of feedback — she'd love to see simpler, flat-back stud earrings made available online for second and third piercings, not just in-store — something we're genuinely going to look into. We started building her a stack with the David Ring from the labradorite collection (a cocktail ring with a pavé triangle detail and a faceted oval semi-precious stone) and a pair of lightweight Talon 5 Row Hoops, the Julian Loves Labradorite Necklace, which is the first time we've ever done this best-selling necklace in a semi-precious stone—with more to come *wink.
Denise, a longtime customer from the Corpus Christi area, joined us on her way out of the grocery store. We styled her in a labradorite piece from the new collection, the Jaguar Cuban Chain Necklace, the She's On Point Necklace, and a pair of She's An Icon Hoops in the size 1". Her advice: sharing is caring — whether that's your time, your resources, or just your knowledge, look for ways to make someone else's day a little easier.
Styling Tips From this Giveaway Live
- A statement earring can anchor an entire stack. The Talon five-row Jaguar hoops was styled as the final piece precisely because it's bold enough to wear on its own or with a full necklace stack underneath.
- Cocktail rings read best on the index finger. The David ring's scale was designed with that placement in mind — worth trying if a bigger ring has been sitting unworn in a drawer.
- Lightweight hoops are a "put together" shortcut. Pull your hair up, throw on a pair of statement hoops, and the whole look reads finished — even over a plain t-shirt.
- A familiar design in a new stone can anchor a fresh stack. The Julian necklace in labradorite was layered with a plain Serpent necklace underneath — proof a signature piece can still feel new in a different material.
- Let a natural stone move to see its color. Labradorite's "fire" only shows up in motion — tilt a piece under different light before deciding it's "just gray."
Why We Do This
I started this whole live series six years ago, and I had no idea then what it would come to mean — to the people who join us, and honestly, to me too. Some days I show up exhausted, sure I don't have it in me, and by the end I'm completely recharged. It's given me a sense of purpose I didn't expect from a jewelry brand. Giveaway Live is a direct line to the people this is all for, and getting to hand someone a piece of this brand's history — no notice, mid-errand, exactly as they are — is why we keep doing it every single week.
