Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Citrine & Craig. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Citrine & Craig , thanks for joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

Smokey Citrine was created out of a mutual love for creating jewelry with genuine gemstones, connecting deeply with the earth and living a peaceful lifestyle. When Craig and I met, something just clicked and we started building from there. It all began with Herkimer Diamond Quartz and our shared interest in where gemstones come from. Our curiosity led us to ask, can we source gemstones nationally or locally for our electro-formed jewelry designs? The answer was yes. Craig showed me a video of the Crystal Collector discovering spectacular visions of gemstones from the earth called Herkimer Diamonds. We decided that we were going to do the same, prospect for this unique quartz variety with our own two hands.

Thus four trips out to New York state were executed and we have never been the same since. I’ll never forget our first time visiting Utica, NY. We stayed in a room of this historic house just north of downtown Utica. A local had opened their doors to travelers on air bnb and we had an amazing stay. The first day we pulled up to Ace of Diamonds we were instantly humbled by the process. No electric tools were permitted. When you walk into the prospecting area you are greeted by this giant limestone and dolomite cliff wall and the panging of steel tools on raw, solid earth. I almost instantly gave up and I remember having a slight attitude about just how hard getting gemstones out of this wall was going to be. (I strive to stand strong like this wall and protect all my gifts) Good thing there’s multiple approaches you can take to find these gems!

We moved onto the next level gigging out dirt from another level up of the limestone wall. This process is the most filthy of them all! We didn’t have much luck with that either. Looking back at this though, I realise my patience needed working on. Between the first and second method of mining for Herkimer Diamonds I’d not really taken the time to immerse myself in the skill and the thrill of the hunt! It was going to take real time to uncover the gemstones but the real treasure was gaining skills, learning aspects about my character, and connecting with the earth on another level!

That’s just one way Smokey Citrine has encouraged us to dive deeper into what we do, who we are, and discover a spiritual connection in life. This is also how we started our feel good, spread love, kind of jewelry brand. We wanted to know more about the way gemstones are sourced so we went directly to a mine. We dug our hands into the dirt with sweat on our brow and in our cracks haha. I will never take for granted the work that goes into finding crystals. I am grateful, thankful and blessed to be able to utilize raw artistic expressions of our planet earth’s art. It is hard to explain the connection we have but those who feel it certainly know why our earth connection is so important. It has changed my life and fueled it since I can remember. I cherish my time gazing into water, the sky, a forest, river, creek, ocean, mountain, dune, cliff, rock, storm, all of it. Nature reminds me of how human I am. How small we all are compared to her. For some reason I find comfort in that, knowing nature is alive and surrounding us.

On an entirely separate note I think the biggest challenge we’ve had is finding and creating the right kind of space for our kind of artistry. The right location will make or break you. That lesson is incredibly clear to us at this point. That might be part of the reason why we are transiting into a humongous rebrand right now. Caldera Exchange.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Since I just revealed that we are currently rebranding, I’ll take this moment to introduce our most recent developments. The name of our brand will change to Caldera Exchange. We’ve talked about doing this for a few years now and it feels like the time is now to roll the idea out. The concept is the same. Feeling good and spreading love remain at the forefront of our business but we want to dig in deeper. We don’t just make jewelry, we make sacred objects, talismans and amulets for spiritual protection or growth, amongst other incredible tools for connecting with your higher self. We want to show how your space is a temple or cathedral for your spiritual evolution and connection to your higher power. We want to utilize skincare that is nature based not toxic or full of chemicals. We want to tap into the wisdom and healing of plants, how they grow, how we resonate together, and their medicinal properties that have been utilized for thousands of years. We want to create exquisite quality goods, share intentionally hand crafted goods, and collaborate with like minded people to expand upon our ideas. We can do this through our new venture, Caldera Exchange.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

One major aspect of my philosophy that has shifted in regard to entrepreneurial thinking is that the work I do is spiritual. I have a polarized feeling with work that doesn’t really serve a greater purpose. A book that lead me to this realization is called Zen and the Art of Making a Living by Laurence G Boldt. This book showed me that doing work with a purpose is a choice we have to make in life if we feel it calling. This process requires a deep dive into who you are and what makes you passionate or feel connected to your higher power.

Another great book that impacted my philosophy is The Secret Language of Plants. This one is for anyone who wants to know more about the connections between humans and plants. It presents you with several studies, experiments and lived experiences that show a deep connection between plants and humans.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

This is a great question because up until this point we have hand crafted everything we sell and will maintain this structure. Hand made is what makes jewelry pieces, statues, collectables, herbal teas & oils special. This will remain how we do things moving forward because it is our foundation. This handmade quality is what we appreciate in our personal lives too. In our experience items that are mass manufactured are not the quality we are looking to deliver to our customers. The act of creating something is sacred and meaningful. We are also not looking to produce at a large scale. There is a value in things being made fresh with all natural ingredients, hand made custom for your needs, and keeping things small batch to ensure uniqueness while maintaining collectibility.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://smokey-citrine.square.site/
• Instagram: @Caldera.Exchange

Image Credits

Photography by Caldera Exchange