Every year at Kiefers we have our annual company conclave which is an entire day of team building and training to kick off the holiday season. At our 2021 conclave, we did something a little different and we asked our associates to design a custom piece of jewelry with a name and story behind it. If you have shopped at Kiefers for any length of time, then you probably know that we love to showcase unique jewelry that has meaning behind it. So with this contest we tasked our team to create a unique one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry that would stay under a $2,000 retail price point with a good story behind it. To say that they put their heart and soul into these designs would be an understatement at best. We shared tears and smiles as each associate presented the inspiration and meaning behind their custom piece of jewelry. We were blown away by the stories and creations that they came up with.
Originally, we had decided to vote on the designs and pick one winner for this contest. The winner would get $500 Kiefer bucks to spend in our store and we would produce the winning piece to sell in our store. But we loved all the designs so much, we decided to go ahead and make all of them to share with our customers! This was a total surprise to our team and their response when they saw their creations in real life was totally worth the investment! We hope you enjoy reading the stories behind these special pieces of jewelry and all of these are for sale currently in our Lutz location and online if you are interested in being one of the first to own a Kiefer Original. We would also be happy to help you customize your own piece of jewelry if you have any ideas of your own!
“Imperfect Perfection” by Daniel Arguello
Click here to watch the video of this piece!
The Story as told by Daniel:
"These earrings are set in sterling silver with 3 small diamonds that sway underneath the earring. On the very top, I took inspiration from Roberto Coin and used a small moonstone that would be near the skin, under the ear. The moonstone has certain properties that would benefit the wearer with healing and strength.
The reason for it's unrefined look is due to the earrings trying to break that beauty and perfection norm with jewelry, with it's unsymmetrical lines and rough edges. This essentially signifies that there is always beauty behind that madness"
Sterling Silver .25 Carat Total Weight Lab-Grown Diamond .31 Carat Total Weight Moonstone Dangle Earrings "Imperfect Perfection" Kiefer Original Designed By Daniel Arguello
“Piece of Me” by Alex Schlindwein
Click here to watch the video of this piece!
The story:
"I designed this necklace to be gifted as a push present or present for a mom to represent the bond between mother and child. When a woman is with child, she can feel and see the life growing inside her. It starts as a distant feeling that comes to life when she finally gets to see her babies smile. Her heart explodes with love as she gets to watch her baby grow and change. The days turn into months that turn into years that turn into decades, and now her baby is all grown up and out in the world on their own. But her child will always be a piece of her. This necklace represents this incredible bond between mother and child by allowing her to remove a 15" section of the chain which is connected by magnets to give to her child. This two-in-one necklace is meant to be shared, reminding each other the their magnetic eternal bond."
This necklace is made in sterling silver set with lab-grown diamonds and is made into two sections that are connected by magnets to connect into a 31" necklace. The two sections can break off into one 15" necklace and one 16" section. This is a Kiefer Original designed by Alex Schlindwein.
“Infinite Love” by Derrick Pyke
Click here to watch the video of this piece!
The Story:
This sterling silver and lab grown diamond pendant has been intricately designed to transform from a drop to a bar with ease. Beyond it’s versatility, the INFINITE LOVE pendant also represents great meaning behind its design: two paths that come together to form three infinity symbols. One infinity for never ending friendship. One infinity for never ending love. One infinity for never ending trust. These three infinities are the foundation of a strong relationship, and this pendant pulls them all together as a reminder to the wearer that they have found their person forever and always.
Sterling Silver .40 Carat Total Weight Lab-Grown Diamond "Infinite Love" Kiefer Original Pendant Designed By Derrick Pyke
*Doesn't include the chain
“True North” by Stephanie Clark
Click here to watch the video of this piece!
The Story as told by Stephanie:
"This piece represents my journey to finding who I am, where I want to go in life, which is why I chose to do my take on the classic journey necklace with the graduated stones placed inside of a compass. Each point of the compass represents a major event in my life. I wanted to do something that shows how even though those events changed me, I am still on the path to my true north, and where I want to be in life."
“A Bee-utiful Life” by Brittany Griner
Click here to watch the video of this piece!
The Story as told by Brittany:
"I chose to design a diamond bee pendant to remind me of the journey I started earlier this year to do my part in helping save the bees. If bees go extinct then so does 90% of the worlds crops that are pollinated by bees and that includes coffee!!! A bee also signifies hard work, personal power and community. If a single bee can travel miles to visit over 1000 flowers to produce just a tablespoon of honey in the 40 days of its life, then imagen all that we can accomplish in our lifetime. For this reason, I see the bee as a symbol growth and journey to find what is most important to you in life and what you leave behind to others."
14 Karat Yellow Gold 18" .13 Carat Total Weight of Diamonds "Bee-utiful Life" Kiefer Original Necklace Designed By Brittany Griner
“Night Bird” by Bob Blair
Click here to watch the video of this piece!
The Story as told by Bob:
The story and inspiration behind my design comes from a very special person. Her name is Jane Nightbird and I discovered her story while watching Americas Got Talent. Jane was 30 years old when she gave her performance. She had cancer 3 times and it had spread to her lungs, spine and liver. She said "I am much more than the bad thing that happened to me". She went on to sing "It's O.K." and I recommend watching this performance if you haven't seen it. She also said "You don't have to wait for bad things to go away before you decide to be happy". She was given a 2% change of survival. She said "2% isn't 0%, 2% is something. And I wish people knew how amazing it is". This brings us to my design that I call night bird. Jane had a recurring dream of birds singing at night, and the next morning she woke up at 3am to the sound of a bird signing. She says "the birds sing because they know the sun will shine again". My design is a symbol of hope and recovery. I chose pink tourmaline as the primary stone to represent the pink cancer ribbon. The night bird isn't only for those who overcame or are fighting cancer; It's for those who give hope to others around them. And hope never dissapoints.
“Rainbow Droplets” by Lauren Seidel
Click here to watch the video of this piece!
The Story as told by Lauren:
"This necklace is about balance. Each clear double pear stacked stone on the necklace represents the rain. The individual colored pear shape stones represent the colors of the rainbow. The symbolism in this necklace would be the rain representing our struggles in life, and the rainbows representing our happiness and good moments. I love incorporating both because it really implies that life is never perfect. No one lives in a constant state of bliss and happiness, overall its more of a balance of the good and the bad"
"Eclipse" by Monique Tapanes
Click here to watch the video of this piece!
The Story As Told By Monique:
The Eclipse Ring Can Mean Many Things. For The Bold Self-Purchaser, It’S A Reminder Of Strength. “It’S Okay To Disappear When Things Don’T Go Right But It’S Important To Come Back And Spread Your Light.” – Shreya Maurya. It Can Also Be Worn To Represent Love. Think Of The Sun And Moon As Lovers Who Rarel Meet, Always Chase And Almost Always Miss One Another. But Once In A While They Do Catch Up And The World Stares In Awe Of Their Eclipse.
We hoped you enjoyed our Kiefer originals!