Island jewelry designer shares her inspiration

By Paula Rath
Advertiser staff writer

Honolulu jewelry designer Lynda Caris has a muse who visits her whenever she sits down to create. "It just happens. It's really a gypsy process. I start weaving the wire, then the stones and beads and other materials somehow seem to find their way into the piece," she said.

Muse IX Designs Trunk Show Featuring the latest work of Honolulu designer Lynda Caris 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and tomorrow Neiman Marcus Designer Jewelry, Level One, 948-7352

Caris calls her line Muse IX as a nod to her Greek heritage. "It's a reference to the nine muses, mythical daughters of the god Zeus," she said. The art of jewelry-making in Greece goes back to the fifth and sixth centuries B.C., and Caris said her style originated with these classic designs.

Her basic materials are delicate gold-filled wires with a finish of gold, silver or her latest, a luxe metal wire with a burnished coppery look. Caris collects stones and beads all over the world, but Greece is her favorite gathering place. On a recent visit, she discovered terra cotta hand-formed beads dipped in silver and gold that add a sensual warmth to her pieces.

She loves texture, and the raw, faceted, tumbled shapes of aquamarine, carnelian and water sapphires. Combining these with refined pearls and Austrian crystal beads makes for light, airy, easy-to-wear art pieces she calls "pagan luxury."

Caris also does private commissions for those desiring a necklace to go with a certain ensemble or to achieve a special look.

She can be reached at 283-8866. Or e-mail her at MUSE-IX-DESIGN@webtv.net