BATON ROUGE PARENTS MAGAZINE AND JEWEL OF HAVANA

I’ve been traveling for art festivals and gemstone-buying trips most of February but while I was away Parents Magazine featured us in February's edition. I just got a copy but you can also read it online.

I wasn't sure why Parents Magazine would want to interview me. I mean... I'm a pup parent but outside of 8 nieces and nephews, I usually hand them back to the professionals when the going gets tough if you know what I mean. I get all the fun and joy of being an Aunt without all the rest of the hard work.

But... I do love inspiring and mentoring young people and if you have a creative kid at home who wants to pursue a life in theater or art, I can certainly speak to that! You can check out the article by clicking the button right here.

I am so lucky things happened the way they did. There were many moments along the way it could have been different. The GYN could have stopped at the first test. After meeting the specialist and learning there was only a 2 percent chance it was cancer, I could have chosen not to have the surgery. No family history, no one seemed alarmed, etc., but thanks to a Cuban Mom and her loud worry meter, I chose the surgery and found out I was in that 2 percent.

Here’s Kourtney's BRProud news story about my breast cancer journey and the jewelry that was inspired by it.

Stay safe and if anything is different, go get checked.   xo Ana

***Partnership update: As of 2022, we are proud to partner with the Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Institute. Your generous purchases from the Draped In Love Collection will now support the OLOL Cancer Institute for screenings and care of those who cannot afford it and research to benefit our community and beyond.

As proud as I am about the strong, resilient people I came from, there are so many similarities in the people of Louisiana and why my parents felt so at home when they moved here. My Mom often shares the story of how she felt when she & my Dad came here to decide if he would accept his job offer at Dow Chemical. Their honeymoon consisted of traveling to the different cities where he had job offers to decide which to take.
 
Mom said when they arrived in Louisiana, it was the first time since fleeing Cuba that she felt truly at home. The people of Louisiana are so much like Cubans. Family are your friends; your friends are considered family and strangers become friends in an instant. They know how to celebrate life and they turn even the hardest times into a party. They are warm, strong & resilient people who can weather any storm. They have each other’s back & the food is sooooo good.
 
So… though I am fiercely Cuban I am also fiercely a Louisianian & even more fiercely American. I will never take for granted the sacrifices my parents made for the freedoms we have today & the warmth & joyfulness of the people of Baton Rouge who welcomed our parents in their mighty Cajun way & made them feel like they were home.
 
Catch the replay of Ashley’s National Hispanic Heritage Month Special on BRProud below and make sure to join the Jewel of Havana VIP list to be up to date on the next Havana Happy Hour Virtual Arts Market and all the fun insider goodies you get for being in the club!

I'm so excited to share something we've been working on for a few months. It’s festival season and we have been on the road. It’s my favorite time of year visiting cities we have fallen in love with and seeing all of you, clients who have become friends. As we travel, the #1 question we are asked by new customers is:

My answer is always, "It’s named after my Mom who is from Havana" but that doesn’t really tell the whole story.

I was looking for a better way to share why I was inspired to do what I do. So with a big thank you to my brother, his camera and many of our beautiful customers, we put together a short video (ok… it was really long but we cut it down to 2.5 mins) I hope it will help you see why it was so fitting to name this company after the woman who's stories of family inspired my connection to jewelry. I'm excited to share our story with you.  xo Ana

P.S. If you are inspired, I’d love to hear some of your stories. Do you have pieces of jewelry that remind you of someone you love or a special time in your life? I’d love to interview you and tell your story on our blog. It’s quick and easy and so much fun and if you are in the Baton Rouge area you’ll even get a free photo shoot out of it! Just click here to get us started. I'll be in touch once you fill out the Share Your Story Form.

When people ask me what I miss most about my Broadway career, I always say, “The girls in the dressing room”. I suppose it’s not unlike having an office full of people who become your family (only in really tight quarters) visiting and trouble shooting and supporting each other in life, love and business. Our work was on stage, our dressing room was your break room or water cooler so to speak (only with a lot of clothes flying on & off very quickly ;)

There is nothing like a room full of creative, soulful, taking life by the horns, carpe diem kind of people. I miss it. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my jewelry business but outside the days I’m at shows or my MVP is here to help, it’s a pretty solitary job. So, I’ve sought out ways to fill my need for the “girls in the dressing room”. Surrounding myself with fellow creative entrepreneurs to support each other in our marketing efforts, trouble shooting the challenges of running your own business, you name it. I treasure the time I get with these beautiful women and we collectively help each other continue to grow and challenge ourselves to be better at what we do.

A few months ago, I was searching the web for other businesses in my area that I could possibly collaborate with and came across the Rising Tide Society. Who knew it would lead to this award?!!

Sponsored by the Rising Tide Society, Honeybook, Peerspace and Gusto, 20 On The Rise celebrates individuals who are "raising the tide and making waves, rocking their respective industries through hard work and creativity."

According to 20 on the Rise: "This isn’t a popularity contest nor is it a ‘most liked’ list. 20 On The Rise is a curated list of 20 rising stars in 5 categories nominated by their peers and selected based on: empowerment, impact, purpose, and passion."

"It's a list of people who believe in community over competition and support their communities as they build businesses they love."

Thank you to the the Rising Tide Society, HoneyBook, Peerspace and Gusto for this honor and for the work you do fostering community over competition. You can check out the full list of incredible creatives on their website at ontherise.honeybook.com

Recently, Jewel of Havana was featured on LPB’s Art Rocks. Many of my customers noted how seemingly different the career path of a jewelry designer and Broadway actress appeared to be. In my mind though, they are not unrelated at all! Both are creative paths, both have a very human connection, both have a “performer” and an “audience”. The only difference in my mind is I use to perform for thousands of people each night & though I could see some faces and feel and hear their collective reaction, it was a shared experience on a relatively anonymous level. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED performing and I LOVED moving crowds to laugh or cry or be taken away to another place or time. But with jewelry making, it’s so personal. The audience is one on one. As I’m creating, I think about who will ultimately “adopt my baby”; what journey will this piece go on once it leaves my hands? And most of the time, I get to know the people who collect my jewelry, their families, their stories. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a tiny part of connecting people through my art. Where one medium happens one night and is a memory to carry with you, the other has a tangible lasting piece that can be handed down through generations. In both careers, I loved the connection to people & sharing my art in what ever form that may be. Now I perform for one person at a time instead of thousands. There is something so intimate and beautiful about something I’ve created, having a life & history that will carry on in your family for years to come.

If you missed the Art Rocks episode, here's a link to watch: Art Rocks    xoxo Ana

Thrilled to announce that the Garden Gate Slide Pendant from the Collector's Series was awarded Best Jewelry Piece at the 2017 Big Easel Preview Exhibition! Honored and humbled as there are so many talented artists at the show.

The 2017 Big Easel will take place in River Ranch in Lafayette, Louisiana, Saturday, April 22nd from 9am to 4pm. Hope you'll come see us if you are in the area. It's a beautiful show in a beautiful setting!

I had a wonderful time as guest speaker for the lovely ladies of the Associated Women in the Arts membership meeting on January 14th.  The presentation was about my journey from Broadway to Jewelry Artist and the process of how I create my jewelry.  Below is a clip from yesterday's Advocate with some of the talented women I had the pleasure of meeting.  Many thanks to Nanci Charpentier of Nanci Charpentier Art for inviting me to speak at the meeting.