Romancing The Stones

They say business and pleasure don’t mix, they muddle.

Who are “they” anyway?

Not one-time accountant turned Big Island jewelry designer Heather Anne Nelson, who has combined her love of numbers with a new love of jewels and in just one year formed a successful business.

Now, instead of hunched over a calculator she can be found tucked away two rows deep in the Kailua-Kona Village Market, under a simple tarp and surrounded by stones. Lots of stones: swirling turquoise and earth-tone Chrysocolla, sky blue Amazonia, espresso-tinged smoky quartz and many, many more.

There she crafts deceptively strong cluster rings, countless styles of silver and gold-filled earrings, and devises her newest creation: curving wire-wrapped necklaces punctuated by small beads.

She’s more than willing to make adjustments, and might even recreate a piece that has been sold. If she doesn’t have your ring size, she’ll make the fit right then, though look for adjustable rings in the works.

Her delicate yet vibrant pieces stand out even in a crowded market, making it well worth a trip to Kona to find unique necklaces and earrings not available online. Though if you order from the web, your chosen lariat or drop earrings will arrive at your home in comforting 100-percent recycled, wheat-colored boxes, decorated with Heather’s own colored paper designs.

But Oahuans, there’s no need to fret. “They” say Heather might be relocating to the North Shore in the coming year.

That is, if the numbers add up.

On sale Wednesdays-Sundays at the Kona Village Market, Ali’i Drive & Hualalai Road, Kailua-Kona, Big Island. Also available online at www.heatherannenelson.etsy.com