DEVON LEIGH JEWELRY

Today we are in sunny Los Angeles, California taking in the sights of The Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden. It is an astonishing place with plants, trees, and shrubs from around the world filling up its 127 acres.

We may catch glimpses of turtles catching some rays on the rocks of the Baldwin Lake, or notice splendid, free roaming peacocks. California is also home to featured jewelry designer Devon Leigh Sedlacek.

The call of destiny is a very intriguing phenomenon. Watching someone's life situations guide him or her back to something or someone is fascinating; such is the case with Sedlacek.

Her love of natural beauty, art, and design prompted her to create jewelry as a hobby. Holding a B.A. in film and screenwriting from Loyola Marymount University, however, Sedlacek pursued a career in the film industry.

While working on film sets, everyone kept asking Sedlacek about the beautiful jewelry she wore. They were so captivated by her bold, original designs they bought items she was wearing! Not long after, Sedlacek started her company Devon Leigh Jewelry.

The focal point of Sedlacek's designs are the beautiful semi-precious stones she uses like Fire Agate, green and purple amethyst, Snow Leopard Agate, carnelian, blue topaz, and druzy quartz to name a few.

Many of her necklaces, for instance, display one or several magnificent stones in their raw, chunky form. In some instances, stones are cut into slices, and then trimmed, wrapped, or backed with 24-karat gold. Gold, silver, or rhodium chains suspend these gorgeous stones, while other designs possess accents of gold between the stones.

She also features gorgeous stones on bold, bronze cuff bracelets dipped in 18-karat gold; and she makes great use of metals with hammered gold, silver and bronze circle link and mesh necklaces. The results are simply spectacular, original works.

"People are reaching back to the earth and to things that happen naturally. There are a lot of negative things happening in the world, and ideas found in nature are balancing and comforting," says Sedlacek of her fashion jewelry line.

Sedlacek's tenure on film sets developed into an exclusive partnership with the daytime soap, All My Children, which features Sedlacek's gorgeous designs. In 2008, the fashion savvy women of Sex and the City: The Movie showed off some of Sedlacek's pieces as well.

Of course Sedlacek has a grand celebrity following including, among others, Jessica Simpson, Toni Collette, Janet Jackson, Debra Messing, Brooke Burke, and Courteney Cox.

In the last five years, magazines such as Elle, Cosmopolitan, People, Essence, InStyle, Vibe, and Modern Bride have featured Sedlacek's designs in their editorial layouts.
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Photo 1 (top right): Hammered Bronze Medallion and Bronze Multi-Circle Chain Necklace
Photo 2 (center): Mojave Turquoise Earrings Wrapped in 24-Karat Gold Foil with 18-Karat Gold Vermeil Chain and 14-Karat Gold Filled Ear Wire
Photo 3 (bottom left): 18-Karat Gold Dipped Hammered Cuff Bracelet with Clear Druzy Quartz Wrapped in 24-Karat Gold Foil