Jumping Juniper

Saturday, June 12th

the Bespoked/ Be Quiet Vintage Fashion Bazaar

celebrate the thrill of the unique

@ the HUB, 1819 23rd Street

Sacramento, California

One of the unique sellers at the Bespoked/Be Quiet Vintage Fashion Bazaar is Chandra Leitzell, a soft-spoken artist/pre-school teacher with a penchant for the spiritual. A practicing Buddhist of many years, Chandra's faith subtly shows in her art. She makes paper, home-made books with handsewn stitching, knitting projects and all sorts of jewelry. Her latest creative endeavors can be found in her Juniper Goods line of jewelry, available on Etsy (junipergoods.etsy.com )

I personally am particularly fond of her flower rings: a simple beaded glass flower blooming atop a wire band.

The Juniper Goods designs have a sense of serenity about them, and I wonder if it's the Buddhist prayers she chants over them?

An artistic nature seems to run in her family. Chandra is a proud mother of two, both of which show an inordinate amount of artistic talent. Her daughter Evangeline is a young beauty with a gift for song, (another talent of Chandra is a wonderful singing voice) and her teenaged son Max seems to effortless master any form of expression put before him, including jewelry making. Chandra once told me how she spent a weekend learning a new beading technique that Max came in and mastered in minutes. He didn't want her to tell his friends as jewelry beading would make him look like a sissy. He's recently been making super short films, and already has the sense of timing and editing skills of a college film student, at the ripe old age of 15!

Take a peek at a little video he made: 

Juniper Goods is also available for custom orders so if you see something you like, but may not fit right, she'll be more than happy to make one to order for you. Her email is: junipergoods@yahoo.com

If you'd like to check out some of her thoughtful jewelry over at Etsy, click here: juniperGoods