Natural Jewelry and Tribal Earrings :|: wood, bone & horn jewelry

Wooden Earrings | Bone Jewelry | Organic Jewelry

GARUDA & Western Bohemian | exotic. natural. organic: Our wooden earrings, tribal jewelry, carved jewelry, faux gauges, bone earrings and bone jewelry are fair trade, handmade and created by traditional artists.
Western Bohemian carved jewelry, wood jewelry and bone jewelry, and our fair-trade ethics, are fantastic. Here is where and how we do what we do:

Feel Good About Your Purchase! By purchasing Western Bohemian carved jewelry & tribal jewelry you are supporting traditional crafts, and the families that make them. All of our Organic Jewelry, tribal jewelry, carved jewelry, pendants, silver and bone jewelry are hand carved one piece at a time. Western Bohemian strives to provide quality, unique, hand-crafted Earth-friendly products to satisfy the soul and beyond... Your purchase supports traditional crafts and families and is a choice to purchase jewelry produced in an environmentally responsible way. Our wood earrings are hand-crafted by traditional people of natural materials. Our materials are responsibly harvested and we support their craft and culture, while improving the quality of their lives and providing jobs where there may otherwise be none. We work directly with the craftspeople to create our original designs in wood jewelry and all of our natural jewelry, and also include some traditional favorites. We stand behind the quality of our product and the aesthetic of its design. If our product fails you in any way, we will do what it takes to make it right.

Materials: Source and Harvesting Practices:

Our exotic tropical wood is sustainably harvested or recycled. Western Bohemian carved wood jewelry, carved bone jewelry and organic body jewelry is created by traditional artisans with pride. Carved in select wood, this organic jewelry shows the rich colors of the natural wood.

SONO WOOD

Light weight and smooth, this richly colored exotic dark wood in tones from deep chocolate to purplish-red-brown is finely carved and polished by hand to create our natural jewelry.
LATIN NAME: Pterocarpus Indicus

ORIGIN: East Jawa (Java), Blitar regency.
HARVESTING PRACTICE: Plantation Grown, though it can be wild harvested under government control. Tree must have minimum diameter of 30 cm before cutting, the trees are replanted in the wild harvest setting.
OTHER DETAILS: This exotic wood has a beautiful colors from a deep purplish and red-brown with golden brown highlights and comes in a range of color. It is still abundant and responsibly grown and harvested. The variety we use is Sonokeling.

HIBISCUS WOOD

This exotic wood is wood from Asia. Light weight, strong and smooth, in a range of unusual colors from a greyish greenish black to a warm walnut color, sometimes also resembling the colors of sono wood, is smooth and has a matte finish by nature, but can be polished to a high shine by hand with the correctly trained skilled artists. It is finely carved and polished by hand to create our natural jewelry. OTHER COMMON NAMES: Waru.
HARVESTING PRACTICE: the source we use offers Plantation Grown Waru. The trees re-sprout freely from the stump after cutting.

EBONY WOOD

LATIN NAME: Diospyros Celebica.
HARVESTING PRACTICE: Recycled.
OTHER DETAILS: RECYCLED. Ebony wood is in danger! All of our ebony wood is made of recycled wood, and much of it is made from the remnants of altars, carvings and antique furniture.

ARANG WOOD

This natural, exotic, black wood has a smooth and lustrous, almost oily appearance and ranges in color tones from deep chocolate to smooth black. It is carefully selected and finely carved and polished by hand to make the best wood jewelry possible.
LATIN NAME: Diospyros Confertiflora

HARVESTING PRACTICE: wild harvested.
OTHER DETAILS: This beautiful exotic wood is naturally black in color, hence the name which literally translates to charcoal wood. The earrings made from it are beep black and amazingly durable, resembling ebony wood.

CROCODILE WOOD

This exotic wood, cherished for its color and strength is called the ivory of wood or sometimes referred to as crocodile wood because the bark of the tree resembles the scales on the back of a crocodile. Light weight, strong and smooth with beautiful ivory like color, it is finely carved and polished by hand to create our jewelry.
OTHER NAMES: Panggal Buaya (Spine / scale of Crocodile).
LATIN NAME: Zanthoxylum Rhetsa.
HARVESTING PRACTICE: Grown in a Plantations or Wild Gardens. The Wild Garden is a kind of community garden that is shared by local families.
OTHER DETAILS: Crocodile wood is almost ivory in color, and is sometimes referred to as the ivory of woods due to its smooth finish and creamy color.

SABO FRUIT WOOD
OTHER DETAILS: This wood has a natural fleshy tone that varies from a light skin color to red peach.
Our Source: The Sabo Wood comes from wild garden on land of the family of one of our master carvers. By chance, they have the trees growing there and they cut it themselves for our use and to help the family.

COCONUT WOOD and SHELL : Coconut Jewelry

OTHER COMMON NAMES: Coconut Palm

LATIN NAME: Cocos Nucifera.
HARVESTING PRACTICE: the coconut shell is left of the harvesting of coconut for food and oil. The wood is plantation grown, home grown in wild farms in the village.
OTHER DETAILS: Recycled. Coconut is an amazing food and grows in great abundance. The shell is also used to create art, earrings, and cookware.

tribal earrings - organic earrings - gauged jewelry - wood faux gauges - wood jewelry - wood pendants - carved earrings : Fair-trade. Hand-carved by traditional artisans whose family has been carving for hundreds of years. Organic and morally sourced. For complete detailed information, please see: materials and care
Handmade, natural and organic…
These hand carved natural earrings fit in normal pierced ears that do not require any special sizes, similar to our Faux Gauges, they look like body jewelry or gauged earrings because of the aesthetic of the materials and design.

Fair-Trade

All of our jewelry are Fair Trade, by highly skilled traditional artisans from only Earth-Friendly natural and organic materials. All our materials are responsibly harvested. We work directly with the craftspeople to ensure the utmost in quality and satisfaction.* By purchasing this product you are supporting traditional arts and culture, helping the craftsmen and their families to improve the quality of life.

Care for your Jewelry:

This fine organic jewelry is made out of natural, biodegradable materials and should be treated with care and respect.
cleaning:
- clean occasionally, as needed, with a mild soap and water.
- dry thoroughly. condition your jewelry lightly with jojoba oil or another natural oil.
- do not soak in anything, do not boil or autoclave.
- store in a cool, dry place. (such as your dresser top or jewelry box.)
- do not leave for extended time in your car, sunny window, or other hot or sunny place.
- do not leave your organic jewelry in a place where it may become wet. (such as on your bathroom sink or in the shower.)
other notes: Our earrings with organic posts fit comfortably in normal pierced ears and are 99.9% hypo allergenic. If your ears are recently pierced or very sensitive, you may experience slight discomfort at first. We recommend oiling the post slightly before you put them in your ear the first time with jojoba oil or a similar gentle and natural oil to help alleviate any discomfort.

Wood Jewelry care:

Western Bohemian Jewelry fine wood jewelry and natural jewelry are made with natural materials and should be treated with respect. *our jewelry should only be used in well healed piercings.*

cleaning: Clean occasionally with mild soap and water. Dry. Oil your bone, horn or wood jewelry lightly with jojoba oil or another natural oil intended for natural jewelry. Please do not soak in anything, do not boil or autoclave! storage: Keep in a cool, dry place. (like your dresser or jewelry box.) Do not leave for a long time in your car, sunny windows, or other hot or sunny place. Do not leave your carved jewelry in a place where it will be wet.
Other Things to Know:

Our wood earrings with posts made for regular pierced ears fit comfortably and normally for 98% of people. If your ears are recently pierced or very sensitive, you may experience discomfort due to the size of the earring post of our wooden or tribal earrings We recommend oiling the post slightly before you put them in your ear the first time with jojoba oil to relieve discomfort. You may also like our Faux Gauge earrings, and carved in wood, bone and horn, these have a sterling silver post for the carved earrings, and look like gauged earrings.

Bone Jewelry

Our organic water buffalo bone is beautiful. An ivory-like natural white cream color, it is a durable and timeless material, however you should take care not to drop it, as it will break. Our bone jewelry will last a lifetime and into the next. The raw material is processed to clean it to purity, then carefully sectioned into workable pieces that can be carved and polished smooth by hand.

Horn Jewelry

Our horn jewelry is made from carefully selected horn in beautiful colors, and sectioned into workable sized pieces, carefully sorted by color and thickness to be made into this timeless and cherished jewelry. It should be cared for and oiled on occasion. The beautiful horn in its deep black and turtle shell-like colors is more and more difficult to obtain morally, as it needs to be from adult aged bison, traditionally never killed until they are too old. as so many jewelry producers have sought this material, the water buffalo of Asia is being harvested-out at a young age. We do not make much of this horn jewelry now, so as to be certain that our bison are loved and respected.
WATER BUFFALO BONE and HORN, LATIN NAME: bubalus bubalis. ORIGIN: South-East Asia HARVESTING PRACTICE: The bone and horn we use is a by-product of meat production and farming practice. OTHER DETAILS: Recycled. The water buffalo of South East Asia is a domesticated animal. It is used to plow fields and carry loads. They are well treated and important to the survival of the native people. When they are too old to work, they are eaten and all part of the animal are utilized. They are never taken in pursuit of the bones and horns!

About the horn earrings and jewelry:

Horn is very much like your hair or fingernails in nature, and requires care. The horn needs to be conditioned, and should be oiled to protect it

as we suggested earlier. This will maintain the color and preserve the smooth surface.
About the carved bone earrings and carved bone jewelry:

Try not to drop it, sit or step on it. The bone does not need to be conditioned, but may be oiled to protect your bone earrings as we suggest in the beginning of this page. This will cause the color to deepen into an ivory like-tone, not bone white.

MOTHER OF PEARL JEWELRY

MOTHER OF PEARL, LATIN NAME: ORIGIN: molluccas. HARVESTING PRACTICE: skin diving to deep reefs, the shells are found already dead. OTHER DETAILS: Recycled. OUR SOURCE: Recycled. We use shell that is a byproduct of production of fine mother of pearl bowls from a silver factory in a nearby city. We choose to recycle the best quality pieces from the remnants of their production

Woven Beaded Bracelets

Beaded Bracelets : May be hand-cleaned if needed with mild soap. Dry well.
SILVER JEWELRY:

SILVER, Our silver is traditionally sourced by industry standards. If you know an earth friendly source of fine raw silver, please let us know! We are open to any documented information to supplement this information. If you have any suggestions, corrections or additions, please email them to us at: goods@OrganicEarrings.com with the word "materials" in the subject line. GARUDA: a bird like animal of mythic strength, the guardian of the Water of Life, famous in South-East Asian philosophy. GARUDA is a warrior, a protector, and a chariot of the gods. You can find IT in the sacred statuary in many temples, palaces and shines dedicated to the spirits of the earth and the ancestral heroes.
FAIR-TRADE JEWELRY

Feel Good About Your Purchase! By purchasing Western Bohemian carved jewelry and tribal earrings you are supporting traditional crafts, and the families that make them. All of our natural jewelry is hand carved, one piece at a time. Western Bohemian strives to provide quality, unique, hand-crafted Earth-friendly products to satisfy the soul and beyond... Your purchase of Western Bohemian fair-trade jewelry supports traditional crafts and families and is a choice to purchase a product produced in an environmentally responsible way. Our adornments are hand-crafted by traditional people of natural materials. Our materials are responsibly harvested and we support craft and culture, improving the quality of life and providing jobs that showcase talents and skills. We work directly with the craftspeople to create our original designs for all of our jewelry, and also include some traditional favorites. We stand behind the quality of our product and the aesthetic of its design. If our product fails you in any way, we will do what it takes to make it right.
Our jewelry lines:

There are a variety of names that people use to refer to Western Bohemian lines of carved jewelry and hand-crafted accessories. We also have a large selection of styles from modern and sculptural to Maori, Asian, Mayan, borneo, Dayak, Baroque, Gothic, Spiral, Swirly, triangle and some that are simply beautiful. Our carved bone pendants, wood pendants and horn pendants are some of the best that exist, and we are very proud of our family of craftsmen for all the dedication to making amazing things for us to share with you, and also very grateful to all of you for promoting quality artistry and fair-trade jewelry.
Kind regards,

Western Bohemian Jewelry GARUDA Organic Jewelry
fair-trade & earth-friendly
organic, silver & wood jewelry
OrganicEarrings.com

GARUDA: a phoenix-like animal of mythic strength, the guardian of the Water of Life, famous in South-East Asian philosophy. Garuda is a warrior, a protector, and a chariot of the gods. You can find Garuda in the sacred Buddhist and Hindu statuary in many temples, palaces and shines dedicated to the spirits of the earth and the ancestral heroes.
How We Got Here:

Why did we choose GARUDA?

In 2001, when I was first starting GARUDA Organic Jewelry, I was faced with a great deal of strife and struggle, and was trying to piece together all the details of a new and socially responsible business while reclaiming parts of my spirit that were lost. ...
Dealing with the irresponsible and immoral practices of importers, producers of hand-crafted items and business people left me with a sense of despair at the shape of the world. I had almost every kind of encounter possible with people who were ruled by only the dollar and had no remorse or consciousness about laying waste to anything that lay between them and more money. No one seemed to consider the needs of the highly skilled crafts people who were producing their goods, or that they were even human for that matter. Very few considered where the materials came from or how they were obtained and what impact that has on the planet and life as we know it. It seemed the whole world around me was about getting things cheap, fast, and now and then turning around to sell it for as much as possible with zero liability to the society from where it came. I was very discouraged and disheartened when I began to see all this....
After a much needed spiritual awakening brought on by bountiful internal struggle and contemplation, I rose like a Phoenix, and in while South-East Asia, the closest animal to it, the Garuda, came to me in my dreams night after night, bringing me solace and strength. It was a gift from the spirits of the island, I accepted it with great reverence, and realized it IS possible to operate a business in a morally and socially just manner while still maintaining responsibility to our mother, the Earth. The energy of Garuda is forever enshrined in GARUDA Organic Jewelry policy and practices. We strive to produce and maintain a socially just atmosphere in all of our actions, from the sources of our materials to the practices in our production and all other steps on the way to deliver this fine Silver & Organic Jewelry to you. Life and Living is our first consideration from our material choices to our employment policy.
We hope the energy of life and love invincible comes to you through the love that is put in every step of our business...

A note from the founder:
Here's a little more about me, GARUDA, what we have been doing, and how we got here.
When I was a child, I was raised on PBS and National Geographic (thanks, Mom!). This filled me with an urge to understand, experience, and travel, and with a great appreciation for art and culture.I wanted nothing more than to see the world and understand what native cultures of other place lived like, ate, believed and felt. In 1994, when I was 16, I started to travel to see a great deal of live music all over the country (mostly with a guitar player that happened to be one finger short.) This was a truly eye opening experience that certainly changed my life and the way I view the world forever. Like a lot of people on the road I created a way to get by. I sold hemp jewelry at first to make my way, then started making intricate custom peyote stitches (bead work) with stones set in them, that were catering to a more personal scene...
As the world around me and my own person went through some major transitions, I lost my interest in the kind of travel and lifestyle I was living, and after some patching of my bones, went to college. I studied sculpture, silversmithing and life drawing in college, and was seldom seen outside the studio. This gave me a foundation to understand the details of design and craftsmanship, and to help me better communicate my ideas as well as be sympathetic to the needs of the craftspeople. In 2001, while in school, I made my first journeys outside of the US and discovered a place that was rich in culture and spirit, and had a large population of very skilled craftspeople. I fell in love with the place, and have returned at least once a year every year since. From the beginning I purchased only handmade goods and sold them just to shops and friends to cover my travel expenses.
I began to miss my previous existence and lifestyle a bit, and at the same time found festivals to be a great outlet for both my spirit and my product. In the fall of 2003 GARUDA did it's first festival in it's new incarnation, and has since not stopped, feeling the spirit of all the beautiful people there and the strong sense of tribe drawing us back constantly. From this platform I started the website, using the festivals as a vehicle to promote the constant presence on the web. It seems to have been a good idea.
We work with as many as 18 craftspeople, all of whom come from traditional families. What I mean by that is that they are not westernized, and follow the traditions of their culture. What's the culture? Hindu. It is truly amazing and their lives are rich with ceremony and community, and they believe in Karma as a staple of life. Not just Karma of the individual, but of the entire Island. They see that if one person does a wrong deed it will affect everyone around them. I work with them firsthand, and pay them wages that are more than fair. The villages and families I work with have in essence accepted me as one of their own. In the time that I have been working with these families they have steadily improved their standard of living and level of craftsmanship, as well as skills with English. I love them dearly and miss them often.
We respect all the customs and holy days, and there are a lot of them, so at times it can be complicated and when a big holy time comes work may stop for a week or more at a time. There are at least 6 such large holidays and uncountable smaller ones, which makes for a lot of days off!
Why Wooden Earrings? I can’t think of a better place to express who you are without words than your ears. They frame your face. Seated on either side of the most expressive part of your body they are powerful and get a great deal of attention, but are not so outspoken as a t-shirt or bumper sticker. Wearing organic materials such as our jewelry made od wood, bone and horn feels natural and unobtrusive to the energy of your body. The tribal styled designs express a part of our souls deep with history and proclaim a relationship with all that is ancient and unspoken, yet billowing with truths and connections to our tribe. They ask the universe to recognize your soul as sacred and unified. Basically, they give you HUGE Mojo.
As for the materials, check out our material information page on the web site. That gives an introduction to what I will say here. First, I need to explain what we mean by "organic". We call them organic earrings because they are made of organic materials, carbon based, not metal or stone. Secondly, all the materials are organic by US standards (though not certified) as they are either wild-harvested or raised on small farms. They use no medicine that is not natural, no hormones, or chemicals. As a matter of fact, they don't even have access to such things in most cases. I am constantly looking for new materials to work with, while still maintaining standards of safety, health and environment. The designs and materials continue to evolve to fulfill the spirit of change and adventure, and I find new inspiration around every corner. I take the opinion and input of every customer into account as I make new designs, choose new materials and make quality standards ever higher.
This is a super small business. Here in the states it is only myself and a part time employee who manages the website. This is truly a grassroots operation, I make the designs (with an exception of a handful classic traditional designs) and work with all the craftspeople, bringing everything into the US, designing my own web site and making up the systems we use, and all of you out there in the virtual world and at those great festivals spread the word about us being here.
All of this comes as some incarnation of all my life's dreams, as I have dreamed of all this before, and did not even realize that I was walking down the path that led to it, but when I ended up here I saw that it was where I had always wished to be. I am not certain what will come around the next corner, but I am sure that I have more dreams waiting to be both fulfilled and dreamed.
For now, you can only find us at festivals and on the web at
http://www.OrganicEarrings.com, but we are beginning slowly to wholesale, though only a hand full of small shops carry our goods at the moment.

Who knows what will be on the next horizon...
Kindest regards,
GARUDA OrganicEarrings.com

http://www.OrganicEarrings.com
enjoy your exotic nature...
Join Us on Facebook!

http://www.Facebook.com/OrganicEarrings our products:
organic earrings
organic body jewelry
wood earrings
silver earrings
organic necklaces & amulets
wood jewelry
silver jewelry