ina+tee : wedding jewelry by april kawaoka

so much of our wedding that i have shared so far has been stationery related.  however, today, i want to showcase something a little different.  the jewelry and the amazing woman behind them, my best girlfriend and partner in crime, april kawaoka.

tee and i have known april for 15 years.  she’s been there since the start of it all and we knew that she would be “the one” to create our wedding bands.

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i always like to pick up a piece of jewelry when i travel as my little souvenir.  when tee and i traveled to Costa Rica for the first time 10 years ago, i bought a sterling silver ring.  i told april that it would be pretty cool if we could incorporate the design of my Costa Rica ring into my wedding band.  so that was the inspiration behind my ring.  the curve in the design lent itself real nicely to mold with the shape of my vintage engangement ring.  it’s almost as if the two ring designs we’re made for each other.

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tee was pretty excited when he knew that he could have april make pretty much anything for him in the form of a ring.  only problem with that is, it left tee with endless possibilities!  in the end, tee decided on a two tone brushed ring in the form of white and yellow gold, with a high polish look on the inside.

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i think it’s rare that wedding bands can have as much meaning behind them as ours and to have someone that means so much to us hand make them, makes them priceless.

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we also asked april to make our entire wedding party thank you gifts, which we presented to them at our rehearsal dinner.

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bracelets for the ladies and tie clips for the gents.

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each bracelet and tie clip was also hand stamped on the back side and personalized for each person.

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for mine, we customized it a bit more by doing a gold chain with the sterling silver so that it would be a little different from the rest.  i love that april uses such unique jewelry box packaging as well!

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april will be at Unique L.A. May 9th & 10th.  come by and visit her if you’re free.  or if you prefer to shop at home, you can visit her Etsy shop.

p.s. may 10th is mother’s day so you can always swing by and pick up a piece of jewelry for the mamas in your life!

photo credit: christine chang photography & april kawaoka

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mind’s eye design studio and i recently worked on a website revamp for aprilkawaoka.com.  we went for a clean and minimal website layout to showcase her amazing artwork and designs.

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we also digitally translated april’s hand drawn sketch to establish her new logo.

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check out april’s website when you get a chance and you’ll see for yourself what an amazing artist she truly is.  april’s attention to detail is like no other and her ability to capture the beauty in her everyday surroundings through instagram (@aprilkawaoka) is definitely worth the follow.

tee and i are also beyond thrilled that she will be creating our custom wedding rings!  🙂

on the 25th day of december my true love gave to me

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yesterday was such a whirlwind i didn’t get a chance to wish my readers a Merry Christmas.

M E R R Y  C H R I S T M A S !

i hope it was a lovely, cozy, warm celebration filled with lots of love, laughter and joy with family and friends.

mine was filled with all that and then some!  from the looks of the image below you’ll see that my view in warrior two will never be the same after yesterday.  🙂

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yes, it’s official…  tee and i are engaged!

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above image courtesy of april kawaoka

thank you to all our family and friends for your well wishes and love!  we can’t wait to celebrate with you all!

day 25 – #dailysoul

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“handmade earrings & card… love my friend’s thoughtful & generous heart”

if you follow my blog, you’ll know how amazing my friend april is.  my best girlfriend, partner in crime, and yoga buddy is also an amazing artist & jeweler.  in completion of our 108 sun salutations she gave me a new pair of her latest handmade earring design (which i secretly wanted) and this sweet little card she watercolored.  we’ve been friends for about 14 years now and her thoughtful and generous heart just seems to grow more and more with each passing year.

make sure you check out april’s website to see her amazing work and etsy shop for original jewelry designs.

to learn more about the #dailysoul challenge, click here.

day 18 – #dailysoul

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“mid-day hot yoga-much-needed-stress-reliever break w/my partner in crime

i told myself that no matter how busy work gets, i am going to stick to my weekly yoga schedule. no if, ands or buts.  so having my partner in crime by my side always makes it that much more easier getting to class and waaaaaay more fun!  plus, when you finally stick your tripod headstand for the first time with both legs up in the air (like i did today, yay!!!), it’s also nice to have a witness to share in the joy.

to learn more about the #dailysoul challenge, click here.

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