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"Jewelry's like your three best girl friends - it's got to be fun, entertaining and comfortable!"

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Meet Michelle Buettner
Being creative and having an artistic talent is in my blood and stems from a family history of artistic people. I've been designing and creating jewelry for over 10 years. I have taken metal smith classes at the Metals Edge in Scottsdale, have been fortunate enough to take jewelry classes from Connie Fox of San Diego and precious metal clay instruction from Kathy Hunter, a very talented mixed-media artist and instructor here in the Valley. I am currently enrolled in distance education at the Gemology Institute of America, studying Pearls. I enjoy creating unique, one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces and am always looking for ways to expand my talents.

I got started around the age of 7 by digging through all the rocks in the family drive way for "treasures" and have since turned my passion for gems, beads and jewelry into what is becoming my full time career. Why? "Because sometimes we spend so much time looking ahead to see where we think we should be going that we forget to look at our feet and see what's right in front of us — our path!"

Where can we buy your jewelry?
I have my online boutique at www.azureseaimports.com and my home studio in the Arrowhead area of Glendale, at 20895 N. 69th Drive.

For customers who come to have personal consultations or to shop at their leisure in the privacy of my studio, the atmosphere is a very fun, non-stressful, and casual one that is usually filled with Jesse Cook music (my favorite guitarist!).

What is unique about your jewelry?
I design high quality beaded and precious metal wire jewelry. The materials I use most are sterling silver and/or fine silver, combined with cultured pearls, semi-precious gemstones, crystals and any unique, fascinating beads that have character and catch my eye! Most of the designs I create are one-of-a-kind or very limited edition pieces.

What's unique is the thought and emotional awareness that goes into designing and creating my pieces; I work from the heart. When doing commissioned or custom work, I'm likely to ask my clients some pretty off-the-wall questions. When designing for them, I like to get a feeling of actually who they are and what's inside them that makes up the person we all see on the outside. Plus, I want it to be fun! Jewelry's like your three best girl friends — it's got to be fun, entertaining and comfortable!

What is your newest or hottest selling item?
The "in" styles right now call for the popular organic gems, and the rather "Bohemian" look — so of course those are hot sellers, but there are two styles of jewelry I design that I get asked to create most often, no matter what the current trends are.

The first would be my handcrafted sterling silver chains. Each link is hand cut, forged and assembled and can take up to three to four hours to finish. They look similar to a majority of the "Tiffany" style chains, only they're smaller scaled and I design mine with a "statements" pendant, unique clasp or another type of focal bead or precious metal clay pendant. Because they're completely handcrafted and each one is special to the person ordering it, it makes them a favorite - especially among my repeat customers.

My other hottest selling items are my eclectic silver link bracelets. Using various gems, stones and beads to create a different, yet very versatile and stylish piece, no two are ever alike. If a customer has a stone or color preference they can have one custom designed to suite their taste, and since no one else will have one exactly like the one they own, it makes them extremely popular.

What is the price range of your jewelry?
I have designs starting in price from $30.00 and, depending on the types of materials used and the craftsmanship and time involved, some commissioned sets can be as much as a few thousand.

What else should our members know about your jewelry?
I would like people to know about the attention to detail that is paid to each of my designs and the quality of my work. I care about how my clients will feel wearing my jewelry. I want each piece to be one that people are comfortable wearing and I want them to know they are getting quality work. I also hope it's a piece of art that's fun to wear and brings them enjoyment.