It’s sometimes hard to find that go-to accessory for an outfit when you’re in a fashion bind. Do you go with bangles or a bracelet? Studs or chandelier earrings? Well, we have the perfect fall accessory for you that’ll easily turn any drab outfit into a one-of-a-kind look.

This week, you can enter to win this brooch made of Swarovski crystals, fresh water pearls and carnelian.

Up until last summer, I spent my days in the Central Valley — Fresno, Calif., to be exact. We’re known for our pollution problems and as the childhood home of Britney Spears’ ex-husband. But now Fresno can proudly say it’s home to Filipina Ciara M. Serumgard, the creative mind behind the jewelry line that caught the attention of Versace and Swarovski, as well as museums and high-end boutiques.

Serumgard spends her time conjuring up embellished cuffs and bold necklaces encrusted with freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystals. And her designs, she says, seem to come naturally to her.

“I create as my hands pretty much go,” she says. ”It’s a very organic process. I’m pretty much a sponge as an artist.”

 

 

Initially, Serumgard didn’t even have any intention to make jewelry for a living. It all started back in her college days, when she used to make wire sculptures. (She says she has always been inclined to focus on the arts.) After clipping off the crowning piece from one of her sculptures, she wore it as a pendant — and that got people talking. “I actually started giving them away. I used my grandmother’s jewelry — the old gemstones and crystals, outdated necklaces — and was rewiring them.” Now she’s been doing it for eight years for her line Ciara Creates.

To showcase the time she spends in the Philippines (she’s a bit of a jet-setter now that she lives in California), she makes use of the country’s natural resources, such as coral and freshwater pearls, and combines them with gemstones from all over the world.

She divides her time between working from her home in Fresno (where she was whisked away to after marrying her husband, Kirk) and her showroom in Manila. But it’s not as easy as it used to be — she takes her seven-month-old baby boy, Kirby, with her now. “He goes with me wheverer I go,” she says, laughing. “He’s pretty much a jet-setter. At two months he was already flying to different continents.” Because of motherhood, she has skipped creating a summer collection, but instead is focusing on her fall collection, due out this September.

View her collections and make purchases online on her site. You can also make orders by calling (818) 730-6825. Don’t see anything you like and are in dire need of something to spruce up your wardrobe? No problem — you can place a custom order and have any stone, color, or design that your heart desires.

 

HOW TO ENTER:

1. FOLLOW: Audrey Magazine on Twitter and Facebook.

2. SPREAD THE WORD: Retweet the contest to your friends. Link @audreymagazine so we’ll see you did this! Also repost on your Facebook wall.

3. COMMENT BELOW: Tell us what fall accessory you’re looking forward to this season (a killer pair of boots, colorful scarf, etc.) and why you’ve fallen in love with it. Then we’ll pick one lucky winner!

YOU MAY ENTER AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WISH! Contest ends Wednesday, July 20, 11:59 PST to comment! You must have a U.S. mailing address to win.

Good luck!

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Tags: Ciara Creates, ciara m. serumgard, Ciara Serumgard, phillippines, swarovski, swarovski crystal, versace, wire jewelry

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