jewelry care

• keep your beaded earrings DRY! if the thread gets wet, it can shrink when it dries, causing the fringe to wrinkle and no longer lay flat. if they get wet - hang them up to dry, and the fringe should dry relatively straight. you can also gently roll or massage the fringe with the earrings laying flat on a clean cloth on a table.

• store your earrings either hanging up or laying flat - in a dry place (not in your bathroom!) and out of direct sunlight (this can cause the glass beads color to fade).

• transport them in a protective box or pouch if traveling (the one i ship them in works great!)

• be gentle with them! this seems obvious but try not to drop them or step on them. if you are going to wear them while adventuring just make sure you have a way of keeping them on your ears (either silicone backing, or you can request hypoallergenic leverback findings from me for no extra cost when purchasing!)

• i can make replacement earrings if you lose or break one! it will cost 50% of the original pair plus shipping, assuming i still have the supplies needed! just email me with a photo of your earring on a ruler and I will do my best to make another matching one.

• email me with any questions or concerns about your earrings! i want you to have your pieces for ever so I’m happy try to help you out if needed.

how to care for your vertebrae hoops:

These hoops are meant to come with you on any adventure. But they are hand-hammered 20 gauge wire with real rattlesnake vertebrae, so they do take some care to make sure they last you a lifetime. Here are some tips:

• you can get these earrings wet, however… sterling silver will tarnish. you can use a polishing cloth or clean, moist paper towel to restore their shine. 14kt gold-fill will not tarnish and can get wet with no problems.

• over time, the rattlesnake vertebrae will lose their bright white appearance - what accelerates this process is getting them wet or touching them with lotion, make up or dirty hands. you can soak the vertebrae themselves in a peroxide solution to try to restore their whiteness. use 5-10% solution of hydrogen peroxide, wear gloves, and place the vertebrae in the solution and let them sit until they reach their desired brightness. do not use bleach, this will degrade the vertebrae and make it brittle.

• be gentle with them! this seems obvious but try not to drop them or step on them. if you are going to wear them while adventuring just make sure you have a way of keeping them on your ears (silicone backing works great for this). use care when putting on and taking off your hoops — i design the hoops specifically to make them hard to pop off your ears. so this means they can be kind of tricky to put on too. just pinch each end of the hoop in each hand using your pointer finger/middlefinger and thumb and gently angle the hooked end in or out of the loop. hold it as close as possible to the ends and this should prevent you from bending the wire out of shape. if the wire does get bent out of shape, you can gently use your fingers to re-bend it. the more it bends the more delicate it will get. if you are unsure of if you can bend them back yourself, just email me and i can either give you tips or you can send it back to me to be fixed. I will charge a fee for this because I feel it is possible to avoid bending them if you are gentle!

• transport them in a protective box or pouch if traveling (the one i ship them in works great!)

• i can make replacement earrings if you lose or break one! it will cost 50% of the original pair plus shipping, assuming i still have the supplies needed! just email me with a photo of your earring on a ruler and I will do my best to make another matching one.

• email me with any questions or concerns about your earrings! i want you to have your pieces for ever so I’m happy try to help you out if needed.