MariRu Design Studio - Artisan Made Jewelry

I am so grateful for the many good things I have experienced this year.  However, I am sad to say that I lost one of my aunties earlier this year because of a mass transportation bus running over both my aunts while they were crossing the street.  This tragic and unexpected loss has put a damper on my happy moments and accomplishments for 2019. I am feeling super excited to have participated in some awesome local artisan markets and events that have allowed me to grow my jewelry business. I'm just going to share a few of the moments that have made 2019 a great year to me and my handmade business despite all the heartache! My uncle Angel has really been an angel this year.  He has helped me a couple of times when I really needed help. Here at Plaza de Colon in Old San Juan Once in a while I make new handouts So grateful that I can participate in the Artisan Market on weekends at Pase La Princesa in Old San Jua The UPR Rio Piedras campus is one

It is more blessed to give than to receive. - Acts 20:35 Since I was a little girl, as far back as I can remember, my family has taught me that helping others is a must. My earliest memories are of my grandma helping others, mind you, we were not rich or even well off, but my grandma taught all her children and grandchildren the beauty of giving. Giving takes many forms: a kind word, a hug, a friendly wave, a little assistance for those who need it... In fact, I used to get in trouble with my mom for giving away my toys and clothes to other children because I saw grandma giving away to others what little she had. When I got older and went away to college I loved the independence that college life brought me. I had little money but I made the most of life: work, relationships, family, church... I I decided to give my free time to worthy causes.  I began to volunteer my time and ended up volunteering with at-risk-youth, sick children at the local's children hospital, Habitat for

I like working with wire and gemstones and needless to say I like wrapping wires around gemstones. I made earrings like this a few years ago using pearls and to this day I still have them and get a lot of compliments whenever I wear them. These earrings are super easy to make and the materials are fairly simple: 1 strand of round gemstone beads (between 2mm to 4mm) 10" - 12" sterling silver wire - 26 gauge  to 28 gauge, I prefer to use 26 gauge 2 large hole sterling silver beads (2mm -4mm) 2 sterling silver hooks Tools: flat nose pliers round nose pliers flush cutter The final size of the earrings is determined by the size of the gemstone beads.  Also, I listed round beads because they give the most symmetrical shapes when wire-wrapped. In addition to my round gemstones I made earrings using rice-shaped fresh water pearls and while the result is still lovely, the earrings were a bit more challenging to make because the size of each individual pearl has to be &q

I am very grateful for many things as I already celebrated a year as a certified artisan after four long years of waiting for the certification.  I have been a busy bee designing and making jewelry pieces that make my heart go pitter patter. After a few instances of trial and error I was able to secure a few venues to participate at the end of the year 2015 and have been actively participating in these events. Finally, this week I was able to get registered as an artisan with the PR Tourism Company! Since I've been busy working for the last few months, I'm sharing a few photos of my pretties! I never tire of taking photos of these rings! They always look great! Aluminum cuffs hand stamped with PR frases and sayings. A little video to show how amazing the flash in labradorite stones really is. My Hearts Galore collection! My latest design in my flower collection: Amapola. Life is good... in Sunny Puerto Rico!

I have been struggling for the last couple of years on how best to represent my brand.  Yep, I said brand.  I think that making jewelry is  something I love to do and having people like what I make with my own hands is such an amazing feeling; however, I want to be able to have a look that when people look at my creations and designs, they say: "Yep, that is a MariRu piece." Even though my vision was not completed I had the forethought to have uniformity in everything that I used to identify my little handmade jewelry business.  While I did not accomplish a cohesive presentation, I did have a bit of uniformity in my Etsy store as well as social media by using a photo of one of my favorite pieces of jewelry (made by me.) The actual photo the pendant looked like this: However, I just did not plain wanted to use the photo, so I decided to "deconstruct" the look of the pendant and this is the final result used for my e-store banner: While I liked the look

I am very excited to have finally gained my certification status as a Puerto Rican Artisan!  I have been trying since 2011 to achieve this and now I am so happy, excited and marveled by how easy, yet so painful the process was. There is actually a Law that governs the artisans in the island.  Known as Law Number 166 from August 11, 1995, this law defines what is an artisan, the categories of artisanal products, how the artisans are regulated and what agencies are in charge of doing so. More specifically, Puerto Rican artisanal pieces must be made in Puerto Rico, by a resident of Puerto Rico, made with materials found in Puerto Rico, hand made with original designs that represent Puerto Rican culture. There are over 30 categories of artisanal pieces. The certification lasts for five years, although artisans must go annually to receive a letter to be exempt from collecting IVU (local sales tax). The interested candidates must go to the Compania de Fomento Industrial (known locally as