Dryads and Naiads - The Naiad Collection

Ok, I had some serious fun planning these fall and holiday collections for you guys.  I find that when I design, I have two sides to my aesthetic - there's the earthy, woodsy, subtle side where I tend to work with all natural stones in vibrant yet "real" colors found in nature.  There is often a lot of blue and/or green, and I personally find the overall vibe to be mellow and sophisticated. 

...Then there is the side of me that gets inspired and excited by seriously bright colors, glam, iridescence, and shimmer.  The gemstones tend to be lighter, maybe with some special "mystic" man-made finishes on them that adds a more in-your-face lustrous look.

When discussing the ideas for these collections with my favorite Vannucci contributor Stephanie Stoner, we came up with the "dryad" name, and suddenly the "naiad" name for the obverse collection was obvious!

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Naiads are like freshwater faeries. They watch over young women as they grow up, and provide protection. Eventually they get married themselves (to rich kings of course) and lend their name and protection to their town's water source.  Sometimes they were daughters of a river god, but often they were immigrants.  As new towns and cities popped up, sympathetic Naiads would sometimes travel to the new location to bring it water.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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I particularly love that they are not OCEAN protectors. They watch over streams, rivers, waterfalls, fountains, and springs - so specifically RUNNING freshwater (but not swamps and bogs - older creatures live there).  I'm more of a creek gal than an ocean gal (unless we're talking about scuba diving!), and the inspiration I've taken over the years from unique and beautiful freshwater locations feels right for a Naiad Collection. 

I picture them with shimmering skin, like sun on water ripples.  They have multicolored pastel hair and gauzy flowing outfits.  ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Next month I'll dig into the Dryads and how they've influenced the converse collection.  Do you find the Naiads to be relatable content, or are you holding out to hear more about Dryads?  I honestly can't decide which side is more ME - think I might be equal parts earthy and glitzy!!