Q&A with Jewelry Designer Amanda Hagerman + Giveaway!

Today we are excited to introduce you to one of our new favorite local jewelry designers Amanda Hagerman and two of our favorite pieces in the collection.

Personally, one thing I always look for when purchasing jewelry is for it to be timeless. I often question wether I would wear the piece in a few years from now, or would it even make a great gift to pass down to my future daughter (if I'm ever lucky to have one). Amanda's line definitely has this timeless feel and the little details make each design unique and special. The necklace I'm wearing in this post has a hand drawn etched design that says "Don't Worry, Be Happy" written through shooting arrows.... how beautiful is that?

With Shop Small Saturday coming up we want to encourage our readers to shop small and support local, talented artists like Amanda. We hope you enjoy getting to know her a little more through this little Q&A and make sure to enter the give away in this post for a chance to win the beautiful Happy necklace and Taura ring set!


All Photos by: Jessica vanDop

Q&A w Amanda Hagerman

1. What is your inspiration for this particular collection?
The jewelry I craft is influenced by current and classic fashion trends, as well as various elements of nature. I create what I wish existed, imparting upon each design my own personal flare for aesthetics and attention to detail. It is my intent to offer unique and trendy adornments that woman have fun wearing. There is no greater joy for me as an artist, than to make someone happy because they are wearing one of my designs.

2. How long have you been designing jewelry?
I got the itch to design and create jewelry in high school after I took a jewelry making class with one of my high school art teachers who is also a goldsmith. It was then I discovered I could focus my love for art and passion for working with my hands on creating unique jewelry for people to wear. I have been designing and making jewelry ever since. I graduated from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania in 2008 with a B.S. in Art Education and a B.F.A. in Fine Metals. Since 2008 I have been teaching high school art in Harwood, MD, which caused me to put my jewelry making on the back burner for a bit. About a year and a half ago, I obtained a studio space which allowed me to fully pursue my jewelry making ambitions. Amanda Hagerman Jewelry came soon after. I’m thrilled to be designing and making jewelry again and look forward to adorning women everywhere for many years to come!

3. Can you give us details of what each item that we are featuring today is made of?
The necklace: Solid brass and a 2" Lemurian Seed Quartz Point (from Brazil)
The Rings: Solid brass and a 4mm fresh water cultured pearl--

Giveaway Details:

(Giveaway ends Nov, 17th)

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclosure:This is a sponsored post brought to you by Amanda Hagerman. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience,

Events: She's Unique Carnival Hosted by Natalie of TFB

I had the pleasure of attending the first She's Unique Carnival Hosted by Natalie of The Fashionably Broke and I am so glad I made (the surprisingly short) drive to Old Town.

We arrived to be greeted by these two fabulous ladies!!! Store owner Katya and Host Natalie were ready for a fun night of styling and shopping with the ladies (and a few gents) that joined us throughout the night!

How can you resist all this fabulous!!

One of my favorite part of She's Unique (other than of course all the great jewelry...) is the decor!! It is so cute and perfectly styled, it makes you feel like you're shopping in your best friends closet!!

Everything about the store, including the staff, is fabulous. There was shopping, and drinking, and shopping, and pop rock snacking and more shopping!!! And of course there was Instagraming!

Jewelry styling!

It was a great night out with a wonderful group of old and new friends!!

Why the price tag at my neck you ask? Well because Natalie suggested I turn around the beautiful piece and I couldn't take it off again!!! Can't wait to get mine with my shiny new crystal!

It was a great night and we hope to see you in She's Unique soon to get your own pieces!! But hurry cause part of the unique quality is that there are only a few of each!

She's Unique Turns 2

This past Sunday I had a total blast celebrating BFF's boutique - She's Unique - 2nd year anniversary!  Katya and I had so much fun planning this event together. We both knew that we wanted to serve mimosas so we decided to spice things up with a mimosa bar that included a mix of juices like guava and passion fruit + berries for garnish. We also served small brunch bites all made from scratch thanks to our food/entertaining contributor and good friend Jessica. For the small details, Katya found vintage champagne glasses from a local thrift store and we did lots of DIYs like the chalk board frames, photo props, and gift name tags.

All of the guests enjoyed an afternoon of sipping, shopping and also playing with fun photobooth props (as shown in the above photo). We are very thankful to everyone who celebrated this special day! We can't wait to plan more fun gatherings like this one in the near future!

Katya's stylish Mom Sibila helping Natalie who we now officially call She's Unique Ambassador :)

Happy Birthday once again SHE'S UNIQUE!! Cheers to many more years of beautiful success!

All Photos by Julien of It's Julien and Rosa of Rosa Loves

Necklaces & Rings - A Layering Story at She's Unique

Making videos isn't always the most comfortable of jobs -- you know the whole looking into the camera not knowing what to do with your arms thing -- but when you get to work with your amazing and talented friends doing something you love (in this case showcasing my favorite jewelry pieces from the shop), the result is this fun way of showing you how to layer necklaces and rings! I truly believe a nice layered look can add that special finish to any outfit, especially a basic one.

For this particular layering story I decided to use pieces by two under the radar designers that I absolutely fell in love with and wanted to highlight in this story - Alana's line, Phyllis + Rosie and Sara's line One OAK by Sara. Their designs are chic, modern, and edgy with a sophisticated feel - just what I look for in a brand I want to bring in to the shop and to our DMV area. Both lines are handcrafted here in the U.S using quality mixed metals and stones/minerals, which is also very important for me and my customers. It's no wonder One OAK stands for One Of A Kind, and you know here at She's Unique we wholeheartedly believe every single one of you is Unique and One Of A Kind! So I hope you enjoyed watching this video as much as we loved making it!

Top to Bottom: 1. Tiny Bar Necklace - She's Unique 2. V Bar Necklace - Phyllis + Rosie 3. Traveler Hammered Brass Necklace - Phyllis + Rosie 4. Quartz Brass Bar Necklace - One OAK by Sara 5. Julia Quartz Necklace - Phyllis + Rosie 6. Coin Brass Necklace - Phyllis + Rosie
(All necklaces available at She's Unique) 

All rings available at She's Unique

All Photos By: Sebastian Marin 

A Buyer's Playground

As most of you probably already know, a little less than two years ago I embarked on a journey we call business ownership. Somehow the stars aligned and with the help of my parents (especially my mom who is also my business partner) I bought She's Unique, a boutique jewelry store on King St in Old Town, Alexandria! The last two years haven't been easy, but it's been an incredible experience to work on literally every single aspect of the store's transformation -- a lot of it with the help of my incredible and talented support system (more on that in the upcoming months). But before I get into all the details of this huge undertaking, I wanted to share a little part of my job I call "the perk". One of the most challenging but also exciting parts of owning your own boutique is definitely the buying process and all the travel that comes along with it. It's so exciting to attend trade shows, meet designers in person, and of course, select what I think would make my customers happy. I know we've all heard of the "big boys" and their buyers (last time I was in the Jennifer Zeuner booth with the Neiman's buyer - pretty intimidating and yes I took notes), but I thought it would be cool to share a little glimpse of what I get to preview at these trade shows from my small business perspective. Because let's face it, I'll never have a gazillion dollar budget, but then again, at least you know every single piece is selected with love (and lots of prep and research)! This past week, I attended the NYNOW show in NYC. It was a mix of personal accessories, jewelry, beauty, gifts and decor. So in other words, hundreds of exhibitors, thousands of attendees and more products that any normal human being can possibly see in six days. I was there for only two days since my focus is primarily jewelry, but I did indulge in seeing it all (or at least trying really hard), and even added a few new products outside of jewelry for this year - no more Voluuspa candles from Anthro here :) Anyway, here is a little brief look into some of my fav brands. Enjoy! A constellation necklace with a birthstone in it -- Love! This year, both personally and professionally, I'll be focusing more on a positive way of living and thinking. Of course, with that said, I had to have these in the shop! Aside from the beautiful and completely inspiring jewelry designs I see at the shows, I also absolutely love and get inspired by how creative the displays are. Definitely took lots of notes to bring back and use at the store. Learning from other professionals in the field is key! Don't panic, dainty rings are still a HUGE trend, but get ready for statement jewelry (especially rings) to take a front seat in 2014. I'm especially loving the animal theme. How stunning is that lion? No caption needed. Just be here now! One of the highlights was meeting Jenny Bird and experiencing her stunning collection in person. One of my favs was this midi serpent ring that is divided between head and tail. How creative and fun! She's a genius. Staying with the animal theme, these sterling silver Elephant necklaces are going to be such a sweet addition to the shop. They're good luck, and we can all use a little bit of that right? :) Aside from jewelry, I absolutely loved the NYNOW's accent on design! Talk about a dream wonderland of home goodies and decor elements only found in your top boutiques. What a dream! I got lost on the second floor of Javis Center for about two hours and discovered treasures upon treasures. Unfortunately my store doesn't have the space for larger decor pieces, but I definitely left with tons of inspiration for my apartment and big dreams of eventually expanding into this amazing world! How incredible are these Fort Standard marble platters and funky bottle openers above? Can't decide if I loved the skull, the gun, or the crown more. All of the above? These shot glasses are a must have if you speak spanish or have ever taken a shot with a Latino/a Loved this color combo. Need these turquoise birdies in my life! I really hope you enjoyed this little recap. Follow more of my SU adventure's on instgram @shesunique_va and tweet at me @shesunique_va (I may take a day or two to reply though - you've been forewarned!) hehe! xoxo K-

Leather Pants or Sweats?

This has to be the most perfect pair of "sweats" ever made! I love that they are as comfortable as sweatpants, but have a little edge with the leather in the front. Genius! I may wear them around the house or I may wear them out.. you just never know which way I will go with these :)

I got these mirrored aviators at Goodwill long ago and absolutely love them

Decided to dress up this otherwise casual outfit with Zara strap heels (yes they go with everything) for a more chic look, but of course you can also rock them with some kicks and T's any day!

This silver bar necklace and matching ring are some of my favorites pieces at the store right now. They have a really cool powder finish that I love (both available at the shop!)

Pants: Urban Outfitters

Crop Top: American Apparel 

Jacket: H&M

Shoes: Zara

Mirrored Sunnies: Thrifted from Goodwill 

Bar Necklace & Ring: She's Unique