Nearly every jewelry design at Luna Lifted starts as a hand drawn sketch by me, Kendra. In fact, 95% of the jewelry catalog are original designs. The remaining 5% includes carefully chosen crystals, charms, or beads sourced from wholesale markets, which I use to complete the full vision of a piece. While I absolutely love the art of designing, I do not possess the exceptional talent as a metalsmith—meaning I don't forge or mold raw metal with heat and tools.
Instead, I work directly with a trusted manufacturing partner in China that has been making my designs since 2018. After I send a digital mockup, we converse back and forth (usually over a few months) to refine the final mold. From there they send a small bulk quantity directly to my studio, where I add any finishing touches, cleanse each piece, and lovingly package with my own two hands before it makes its way to yours.
I strongly believe jewelry holds energy, meaning a talisman with deep meaning should never come at the expense of human dignity or the planet. Our manufacturing partner operates out of a facility certified under BSCI and SA8000 global standards, ensuring fair living wages, safe working conditions, and ethical labor practices for all workers.
ALL OF OUR JEWELRY IS LEAD FREE, NICKEL FREE, AND CADMIUM FREE
Most of our pieces are made with either stainless steel or sterling silver, with the exception of older inventory that is made of copper or brass base metal. Every piece is plated with a thin layer of 18k gold or real silver over the base metal. The product description for each individual piece specifies its exact base metal, plating, and, for gold pieces, karat level. In 2021, we transitioned to making our pieces exclusively with stainless steel or sterling silver, ensuring your jewelry won't tarnish when properly cared for.
STAINLESS STEEL
Majority of our jewelry is made with a stainless steel base. Our stainless steel items are our highest quality and the most tarnish resistant, meaning they can get wet and be worn everyday without the color fading - it is shiny, highly durable and resists corrosion and oxidation.
- Stainless steel is a sustainable material. Its long term life makes it an ideal environmental performer in comparison to other materials. It's made to last.
- It’s fully recyclable and can be re-used. In fact, it can be recycled many times over without losing its qualities (durability and rust-resistance).
- It’s not harmful or toxic to the environment.
- It's resilient to water so it will not rust, nor will the plating on it.
- It's durability and strength means you don't have to worry about your jewelry getting bent, or squashed.
- It contains hypoallergenic properties, so is unlikely to cause adverse skin reactions.
- It doesn't leave green marks on your finger/neck!
STERLING SILVER
Sterling silver, an alloy (a mix of two or metals) is made up of copper and 92.5% pure silver. Slightly harder than pure silver, sterling silver is the most popular alloy for use in the manufacturing of jewelry, as pure silver is too soft to make durable jewelry.
Sterling silver is a great choice as it is high quality and long lasting, and can be polished unlimited amounts to make it look brand new every time.
COPPER/BRASS
Copper and brass base metals are stronger, and higher quality metal to make jewelry with. They will not tarnish if they are properly cared for. Unlike stainless steel and sterling silver we don't recommend getting them wet. Getting this jewelry wet a few times will not damage it or change the color, we just advise minimal to no contact with water. Take your jewelry off when doing the doing the dishes, going swimming, exercising and taking a shower. We also do not advise sleeping in this specific jewelry, especially if wearing multiple necklaces as this can tangle them.
The truth is, water reacts with all metals, and while stainless steel and sterling silver are
"waterproof" the more contact it has with water, the more likely it has the chance to develop impurities on its surface.
Sustainability Tips: Taking Care of Jewelry
-Store in a dry, safe place
Each necklace comes in a purple velvet bag, these make a great place to store your gems when you're not wearing them. Keeping your jewelry as dry as possible will help prolong the nature of its color and shine.
-Do not leave in sunlight (this is especially important for crystal pieces as the sun can damage certain gems if they are exposed to harsh light for too long).
- Do not spray on perfume or other sprays while wearing your gold plated jewelry. Wear your jewelry after you have sprayed on your favorite perfume so that chemicals on the spray or perfume does not interact with your jewelry’s metal.
- Wait until your lotion or cream is dry or has been absorbed by your skin before you wear your gold plated ring, bracelet or necklace.
- Substances like oil, nail polish, nail polish remover, chlorine, perfume and the like may react with metal/plated jewelry and will cause it to tarnish easily. This also goes with sweat, so make sure you don’t forget to remove your gold plated jewelry when you exercise or anything that would require heavy physical work, and also when swimming.
- Every after use, clean your plated jewelry with a cotton ball or a very soft cloth to remove any dust and dirt it has acquired. Gently rubbing the surface of your gold plated jewelry using a soft jewelry cloth also helps restore shine.
- To avoid scratches, wrap your jewelry in a soft cloth after cleaning or keep it in a jewelry box separate from other types of jewelry you have.
Taking care of jewelry is important to ensure that it will last a long time. Even the nicest pieces are prone to tangling and tarnishing if not properly cared for.
How to Clean Jewelry At Home:
We recommend using a dry polishing cloth or microfiber cloth to clean our jewelry, especially after wearing. Stay away from jewelry cleaners and antibacterial soaps which may have certain components that will just make gold plated jewelry tarnish more quickly.
If your jewelry shows signs of color change you can let it sit in a small bowl of vinegar diluted in water for no more than 10 minutes. (1:1 Tablespoon ratio) Once it has soaked, wipe with dry cloth immediately.
Charging your Gems:
-Let them bask in the Moon's light
Like tarot cards and stone crystals, your jewelry can also be charged under the moon.
The Full Moon is a time of increased potent energy, the New Moon is favorable for new beginnings and manifesting, and the waning and waxing phases in between also carry their own energetic charges.
-When in doubt, cleanse it out!
Like everything in this world, jewelry carries energy depending on what it picks up when you wear it or even if someone focuses on it from afar. If you had a bad day, a bed interaction, or overall feel a little heavy, take your jewelry off and give it a good cleansing. Light an incense, palo santo, or ethically harvested sage and hold it under your jewelry and let the smoke flow around it.
-Put your own positive energy into your jewelry
What you think, you attract. This one requires some concentration. Find a quiet place and clear your mind. Hold your gem in your hand and imaging what energy you want to infuse in your jewelry. Now imagine that energy moving through your arm, out your hand and into your necklace.
We obtain our crystals from a supplier here in the United States, they gather their stones from various areas around the world. Each crystal piece is uniquely hand made and shade variation is to be expected as these are natural. Please note that all crystals are not perfectly flat and vary in color hue and size.
There’s a reason we carry mostly gold jewelry...
The powers of gold are a phenomenon that healers and people in high seats of power have known about for some time. It raises frequencies and amplifies abundance.
Gold is heavenly, in every sense of the word. Most people don’t know this but, while we mine for gold here on earth, all of the gold that’s deposited in our planet was formed during the explosions of stars and collisions of asteroids, and eventually found its way to earth over time. On earth, gold is one of the most valuable precious metals and rarest natural minerals. It is also one of the 118 elements so far discovered and classified by humans. Pure gold is a bright warm yellow, malleable and soft substance. It’s so soft that, in its purest form, it can’t really be used for everyday wear. To harden it, it is alloyed with a mixture of metals like silver, copper, platinum, palladium and zinc.