Sand . Sea . Sun™ &  Austin Design™

... began as a result of a lifelong love affair with the beach.  I was fortunate to grow up on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, in the village of Cape Hatteras.  My summers were spent pretending to be a dolphin or a mermaid, and hunting the shoreline for treasures. As a little girl, I spent hours collecting driftwood, shells, sand, and suntans ~ but the best discovery of all was always a genuine piece of seaglass. I still have a few of the pictures and mirrors I would decorate on rainy days, carefully placing each shell, each pebble, each piece of glass.

The years passed as they always do, and while living on the island of St. Thomas I focused my creative side, and began making jewelry. Through trial and error and genuine fascination, Austin Design Jewelry was born. I sold to my first galleries there, and then began attending retail and wholesale art shows along the East Coast. In 1995 I returned to Hatteras Island, and concentrated on the development of both my jewelry lines, and the business as a whole.

Much has changed since this picture was taken in 1973, but sometimes ~ if the sun is just right, and I raise my hands over my head, close my eyes, and listen to the waves, sometimes I can still believe that I am a mermaid.

Sand . Sea . Sun™ &  Austin Design™

Austin Design Jewelry originated in 1985 on the Island of Cape Hatteras, a small fishing village on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and on the island of St. Thomas in the the U.S. Virgin Islands. Today, we have our studio in the foothills of the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains. Our company is a group of artisans which create each and every piece by hand. We pride ourselves not only in our original designs but also in the quality and workmanship which goes into every piece. Our inspiration, of course, is our home island ~ into all the jewelry we blend the colors, elements and feel of the ocean.

We offer two distinctive American handcrafted jewelry lines.  Sand . Sea . Sun™ is created from recycled glass similar to natural seaglass, and accented with sterling silver, sand etched glass beads, charms with nautical and sea life motifs, and bright crystals.  Austin Design™ is a more contemporary line, incorporating, semi-precious stones, natural pearls, bohemian glass, and sterling silver.

Sand . Sea . Sun™ &  Austin Design™

originated on the Outer Banks of North Carolina -- islands with a wealth of history, beauty, and diversity.
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