Each month, Caribbean Queen at the Palm Beach Plaza Mall honors one local female artist who lives and creates here. The Caribbean Queen program was launched when the store opened in late 2011, and has been running successfully ever since.
For the month of September 2016, local artist Louella Croes is the boutique’s celebrated Caribbean Queen, showcasing her charming gemstone jewelry.
“As the beauty of life unfolds on the island of Aruba,” Louella says, “I acknowledge the privilege of being an Aruban citizen, a working mother, a wife, and a friend.”
“What makes my life so worthwhile,” she adds, “is also the added value of my various hobbies, including beading, scrapbooking, swimming, fitness, jogging, boating, and traveling.”
Louella is passionately engaged with her jewelry and with fashion design. She feels her pieces reflect both authenticity and elegance. She has been practicing her craft since 2010, making jewelry from the day a colleague showed her the basics. After this short introduction to jewelry making, her love and passion for beading took over, resulting in a collection of beautiful wearable gemstone jewelry.
Louella loves working with gemstones such as black onyx, agate, hematite, turquoise, quartz, moonstone, malachite, lapis lazuli, angelite, opal, goldstone, charoite, tourmaline, jade, amber, jasper, lava rock, amethyst, labradorite, and anything that glows and sparkles. She also favors freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystals. She buys the beads in the USA wherever she finds them, and has been improving her techniques steadily.
Caribbean Queen earmarks a percentage of all sales for its Tikkun Olam (Repair of the World) program. The collected funds are given annually to local not-for-profit organizations in an ongoing effort to serve the community. All the foundations served with donations from Caribbean Queen are dedicated to the promotion of art and artisan education on the island.
Enjoy unique gemstone jewelry by Louella Croes throughout the month of September at the Palm Beach Plaza Mall.
