About me

**ORDER GIFT CERTIFICATES HERE**
**If you live in the EU or UK please contact me before ordering.  I will have to create a custom order for you in my Etsy shop due to the VAT requirements that the EU and UK have put in place.**
** Sorry due to updates to the "Packaging Act" I am unable to ship to Germany. **

Inspired by Nature. Created by Hand. Made to Last.

Are you mesmerized by the colors and patterns hidden inside gemstones? Do you love wearing jewelry that feels personal, meaningful, and one-of-a-kind? If so, welcome — you’re in the right place.

I’m Susan Estrada, the artist behind cserpentDesigns.

I’m endlessly fascinated by gemstones, artisan-made glass beads, and the magic that happens when nature’s beauty meets human creativity. Each piece I create features hand-selected stones, handmade glass beads, my own enamel-on-copper components, or my metalwork — sometimes all of the above. Because the artisans I buy from rarely repeat designs (and neither do I), my jewelry is often one-of-a-kind.
 
My style is organic and earthy, with occasional bursts of glitz — and every so often, I even create a bit of grunge. My background is part engineer, part artist, so jewelry design is the perfect blend of creativity and precision. Enameling in particular is equal parts science and art, which feels like home to me.

A Family Legacy of Stone Lovers

My love of gemstones didn’t start with me — it’s in my DNA.

My grandfather hunted rocks and geodes in the Mojave Desert, cutting and polishing them into chimes, necklaces, and whatever else his imagination sparked. My aunt continued the tradition, making jewelry with beautiful semi-precious stones. As tastes changed over the years, my mom gifted me some of my aunt's pieces, and I took them apart to create new designs — that’s how cserpentDesigns officially began.

Quality Materials That Stand the Test of Time

My journey into designing started when I bought gold-plated beads for my first wire wrapping class — and watched them tarnish and flake just a few months after I started wearing the design I made. I decided then that I would only use materials meant to last.

In my designs you'll see metals like:
  • Sterling silver
  • Gold-filled and solid gold
  • Niobium (great for sensitive ears!)
  • Raw copper and brass

  • Enameled copper handmade by me

From “Sea Serpent” to cserpentDesigns

The name cserpentDesigns dates back to my scuba diving years — my husband nicknamed me “Sea Serpent” because of how I looked emerging from the ocean in a purple-and-black drysuit and oversized fins. He eventually registered the domain for me so I could separate my jewelry work from our engineering business. Yes… when I’m not designing jewelry, I’m a design automation engineer. (You could say I like designing things — whether they’re circuits, software or earrings!)

A Few More Things About Me

  • Several of my designs have been published in Bead Trends magazine.
  • We always have rescue dogs in our home — usually two at a time.
  • I play and watch soccer
  • I love hiking - especially in national or state parks

I’m a proud member of the Self-Represented Artists for Jewelry Designers (SRAJD) — Member #353.

When I design a piece of jewelry, I am inspired by some place I've been or something I've seen.  I hope that each piece is more than jewelry to you — I hope you see one of your stories in the metal, stone and glass.

Follow me on social media! My designs premier on Facebook and Instagram so be sure to like my Facebook page or follow me on Instagram if you want to see my designs fresh out of the studi0.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cserpentDesigns
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/cserpentDesignscom/
Blog: http://www.cserpentDesigns.com/blog and http://cserpentDesigns.blogspot.com
Instagram: @cserpentDesigns