If you have ever gasped at iridescent, colorful, almost glowing locally forged jewelry made of fused dichroic glass, it just might have been made by Lynne Nakaura, founder of Creations by Keiko.
Or maybe going as far back as 30 years ago, you were stunned by her bold, ceramic jewelry, often embellished with shiny, 22-karat gold flourishes that had been fired into the finish.
Nakaura, whose middle name is Keiko, started her jewelry-making business in 1984, and it has been her full-time vocation since about 1985.
She transitioned from clay to glass "about 15 years ago,"she said, phasing out the ceramic line and slowly incorporating the kiln-fired glass pieces.
Nakaura makes jewelry for every budget, from small "dot" earrings starting at $16 to small pendants priced from $28 to $38, depending on whether they are strung on satin cord or sterling silver chain; she also offers more elaborate earrings and pendants.
Her most expensive pendants — abstractly shaped pieces of fused dichroic glass that incorporate wire wrapping and crystal beads — are $198.
"It’s not trendy, so it’ll never go out of style," she said. Besides, she adds, "you can never have too much jewelry."
She has a graphic designer create the images of flowers, dragonflies, petroglyph-style honu (sea turtles) and other objects and prints, which then get made into materials she uses in her jewelry.
"Ilove what I do," said the full-time jewelry maker, who left a lucrative and secure job with the City andCounty of Honolulu as a clarinet player in the Royal Hawaiian Band to pursue her crafting.
However, "music is (still) a big part of my life," she said.
Nakaura practices her musical craft by offering private lessons to clarinet players from sixth-graders to seniors in high school, she said. She knows the entire clarinet section in the Hawaii Youth Symphony.
Tutoring is "my part-time job," she said. She also has played with the Honolulu Symphony and the University of Hawaii orchestra, and chuckled as she told a story about playing the "Chicken Dance" song at an Oktoberfest event as a side gig.
While on sabbatical from the Royal Hawaiian Band, she took classes at a community art center, where she first learned ceramics.
"Inever took art in high school. … I was a band geek," she said.
Following her return to the band, she continued to make ceramic jewelry, selling her wares at small craft fairs. After about a year of overlapping the jewelry business and being in the Royal Hawaiian Band, she decided to make the jewelry business her full-time pursuit.
Her father, Paul, was "upset," she said, given the loss of secure income, but her business took off "and he became my biggest supporter."
The most recent Made in Hawaii Festival was a tough one for her because her No. 1 fan, her father, died in April at age 81.
Nakaura has many regular customers who have bought jewelry from her over the years. Many tell her how they get compliments on her jewelry when they wear it, or about the reactions they receive upon giving her handmade jewelry as gifts.
Her father saw her success but also continued to see her humble heart.
"I feel very fortunate and grateful that I can survive doing what I do,"she said.
While she will be at the Islandwide Christmas Crafts and Food Expo the weekend after Thanksgiving, Nakaura’s business has shifted from mostly craft fairs and some wholesaling to 98 percent or 99 percent wholesaling via gift shops and galleries around the islands. However, she does sell items via an Etsy shop online, she said. Her business also has Facebook and Instagram pages.
Those who purchase Creations by Keiko jewelry will read on the accompanying card a quote from Nakaura: "May these one-of-a-kind creations bring as much joy to you, as creating them has brought to me."
WHERE TO BUY
www.creationsbykeiko.com
www.etsy.com/shop/CreationsbyKeiko
Islandwide Christmas Crafts and Food Expo
Blaisdell Exhibition Hall, Nov. 28-30
Oahu
Polynesian Cultural Center, Laie; Nohea Gallery, Ward Warehouse; Native Books/Na Mea Hawai‘i, Ward Warehouse; Under the Koa Tree, Waikiki; Britton Gallery, Haleiwa
Maui
Oceanology Gift Shop, Lahaina
Hawaii island
Kilauea Lodge, Volcano; Volcano House, Volcano; Volcano Winery, Volcano
“Buy Local” runs on Aloha Fridays. Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
