Sustainability

"Noa Sharon Designs" is a handmade fine artistic jewelry brand focused on smart stylish rustic alternative designs, largely created in solid gold and Sterling silver.

Established in 2009, based in south Tel Aviv with long history of craftswomanship in the field of metalsmith and a large portfolio of collections, styles and various creations, inspired by and stems from Noa's education and fields of interests (find out more here).

Noa, the designer and maker of your tiny treasures (and basically the heart and hands behind "Noa Sharon Designs") - is deeply passionate about sustainability ever since she can recall, and aims to implement sustainability in all aspects of the brand.

Design & Materials

From day one, Noa focused on designing and crafting sustainable jewelry that will last forever and may be passed on to the next generation, as a form of modern heritage. This is why our jewelry will never be coated / plated with gold. We use only the real thing.

The rationale is double:

The process of making plated gold jewelry includes harmful chemicals that are normally washed away in the sink drain system, and may appear in the local drinking water. The chemicals are also harmful for the workers in the coating factory.

Another important angle is that solid gold alloys used in the studio: 9K, 14K, 18K, 24K are all recyclable. All solid gold pieces can go under a cupellation method (for refining & recycling) to obtain the pure gold, and then be re-used to create new jewelry. Silver jewelry go under the same recycling process. 

Some ready made items like chains we get from a local supplier that reported to us they are made from recycled gold.
So all the gold and silver that we use in our studio is 100% recycled.

Noa occasionally takes small pieces of gold scraps left on the bench and melts them down, or cut and polish to create new shapes, to craft some of the jewelry in the collection, such as the nails earrings and even parts of the mobile earring.

The design is also an important part of the durability (and sustainability) of an item. We create jewelry that are timeless and stylish, with a modern twist. You will enjoy it for many years to come because the design is based on the material characteristics, smart size and proportions planning and long lasting shaping, not a momentary trend. We believe in the durability of our jewelry and that’s why we offer a lifetime warranty.

Or if to put it in the words of Vivienne Westwood: buy less, choose well, make it last.

Packages

For a minimal environmental impact, our jewelry are packed in a reusable natural cotton drawstring pouches, hand stamp printed in our studio, using water based ink. Our stamps designed by a local artist and crafted exclusively for us at BlossomStamps.

These drawstring pouches may be used for traveling, to pack your important little things in your day bag, to the gym/pool carrying essentials, or you can add some incense and put it in your wardrobe. Some of our customers are already hooked!

Another value is the minimum usage of paper. We print only one postcard (locally and on recycled paper, of course!). One side has the beautiful peacock which serves as a pretty photo to mount on the wall or on your fridge - while the other side contains your exclusive 10% off coupon code benefit, our personal "thank you" note, and QR codes linking to our club membership and jewelry care instructions. It may be worth to mention that stickers of all kinds are extremely polluting and this is why we never use these as a promotional method.

Mobility

We usually ride bicycle or use public transportation for everyday studio arrangements. No car or motorcycle - so no use of extra fuel, leading to as low carbon footprint as possible.

95% of the tools and materials used in the studio are purchased locally, thus reducing transportation of heavy goods.

Custom & Heirloom

As a sustainable brand we encourage our audience to use their preowned, heirloom and other unworn jewelry to be replaced with new, freshly made to their taste, treasures.

We are more than happy to set an online / studio appointment to examine your old gold and evaluate what best be done with it. You may want a new ring with incorporated heirloom diamond / gemstones, or to refine the gold and use its value to get a new jewelry.

The evaluation meeting is a free service we offer to all our customers.

We adore challenges and believe it is a great engine to drive creativity and LOVE making custom designs for you - based on your ideas, thoughts style and preferences. 

Contact us and we'll set an appointment (online or offline) for project assessment. Noa will work closely with you on every aspect throughout this enjoyable process. 

Tool Fixing

For many years Noa had a passion for fixing and reusing things, and there's no reason why studio maintenance will be any different. Tool fixing is an important part of longing studio tools lifetime and also plays part in elevating your work routine and professional practices.

Noa uses the environmental procedure of electrolysis to clean the rust from the studio tools, and also fixed her hammers with some online DIY tutorials.

Recently Noa visited the awesome blacksmith workshop of a colleague to create her own tools for a new technique she wishes to implement in the studio: Repousse.

Handmade

We try our best to do everything that is possible by hand and in-house. Almost 90% of the making is handmade by Noa in the studio. A few protocols - such as stone settings and engraving - are done by local professional craftsmen who are the best in their field.

Diamonds & Gemstones

All our natural diamonds and gemstones are conflict free and fair trade, and go under high quality assurance. We hand pick the best gemstones on the market and purchase only from a certified local gemologist trader.

We also offer the more environmentally and socially friendly option: man made / lab grown diamonds and gems, upon request.

As an advocate in this field, Noa gives lectures (as well as Pro bono) on the diamonds industry history and on the man made / lab diamonds in particular).

Community & Activism

On September 2016, stemming from an extensive R&D for her sharing economy initiative: an online marketplace for renting jewelry and accessories directly from designers, Noa has co-founded the "Sustainable Fashion Forum" in Israel which she still manages today. In this voluntary independent organization the leading team invests in expanding the knowledge on how our garments and adornments are being made, in all parts of the supply chain, focusing on the social and environmental impact. 

As a member of the local metalsmith and jewelry makers community, Noa feels she has a great responsibility. For the past 4 years she focuses on exposing  information and expanding the knowledge about the diamonds industry - from early history till our times: with new technology that allows us to create lab diamonds and other man made gemstones. Noa is an enthusiastic advocate for a more sustainable jewelry industry.

We offer a selection of man made diamonds and gemstones that are available to be set in our handmade jewelry collection - upon request. 

Collaborations

Any jewelry maker will tell you that the work on the bench is a lonesome one. So we're always happy to work together with other crafts and makers like us, and to collaborate with fellow artists. 

We believe that creating back to back with other artistic souls may result in a great technical elevation, to evolve and mature as an artist - and will benefit all parties. 

more info on the collabs highlights on our Instagram account.

Recent collaboration is on a tandem collection: joining forces with fashion designer Jenny Agasandian on a themed work inspired by the naturalism age, the flora and fauna detailed so precisely by artists and the books: “amazing rare things“ & “last chance to see“.

There are also the coolest beautiful modern ceramic plates that Noa have co-designed with "color and clay" studio this year, and are exclusively available in our studio.

Always happy to recommend a good supplier!

Martina makes awesome hand printing stamps. We have an exclusive offer of 10% off on your orders at BlossomStamps with our coupon code: NoaSharon

Giving Back 

Has a section of its own, right here.