Meet Natalia Norena Who Creates Unique Hand-Crafted Latin American Tagua Jewelry from a Little Shop Next to the Ancient Theater in Larissa, Greece

Available on: Etsy
Seller: colorlatinojewelry.com
Designer: Natalia Norena

Pinterest is an awesome platform to collaborate and also for finding talented artists. We came across Natalia first through Pinterest and then via Instagram. In both places she shares her unique handcrafted jewelry and we thought it would be interesting to know more about her work. We did a short interview with her and lets find out about her unique work. 

Spire Trend: Tell us a little bit about yourself

Natalia Norena: I am from Colombia, currently living in Greece and married to a Greek. You might be asking yourself how did a Colombian ended up in Greece?. I get this question 4-5 times a day at my retail store in Larissa. Well, I was doing a Master in Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Brighton in the United Kingdom, where I met my husband. As I mentioned before he is from Greece. So, when we finished our master’s degrees and graduated, we decided to get married and come to Larissa, his home town. Yes, learning Greek was hard!! But… I think I made it 😀

Spire Trend: What made you to start jewelry making or what is your inspiration behind it… or do you have any particular story to share?

Natalia Norena: After working for a while in marketing and advertising here in Greece, I decided to have my own business, where I could design and create plus apply all the concepts that I have learned in my business studies and through my working experience.

I had the idea of starting my jewelry business because my Greek friends and relatives were admiring the jewelry that I was wearing which was brought from Latin America.


Spire Trend: How do you come up with all these designs? Do you plan and draw them all in before hand then make them.


Natalia Norena: Yes I paint them on paper, make the draw on the metal, cut the design by hand, and so on.

A video posted by Color Latino Jewelry (@colorlatinojewelry) on Jan 26, 2017 at 11:57am PST

Spire Trend: What is the normal process of making a jewelry in your studio. Where do you get all the inspiration for the designs, colors, etc

Natalia Norena: I look at color trends for the next season on Patone Fashion Color report. I also include in our collections colors that always have demand such as apple red, navy blue, turquoise and white.

The inspiration for the designs also comes from looking at the broad jewelry trends : for example for this current season white pearls are back. So, based on that specific  broad trend I  design my own jewelry with a touch of Latin American color beads and the combination of metals . Finally,  I also get input from customers, since I make custom jewelry.

Spire Trend: You have a lots of jewelry with Tagua Nut. What is it actually? How do they get so colorful. It would be great if you could educate our readers about Tagua Nuts


Natalia Norena: Tagua is also known as vegetable ivory because of its resemblance to elephant ivory. It is harvested from ivory palms in South America and viewed as a sustainable alternative to ivory derived from animals. The tagua seed needs to be dried naturally to separate it from its shell. Once removed from the shell, it shows the beautiful ivory color.

A photo posted by Color Latino Jewelry (@colorlatinojewelry) on Nov 2, 2016 at 2:47am PDT

With a bit of polishing the nut has a wonderful finish. The nut is cut into different shapes and forms and dyed in a variety of different natural colors. The whole process from harvesting to coloring and drying the tagua nut takes about 6 weeks.

Spire Trend: Where do you usually sell your work? Do you have brick and motor shop or do you sell them physically in other shops? 


Natalia Norena: I have a retail store located in Larissa, Greece and also sell my pieces physically in other shops. About a year ago I opened my retail store on Etsy, later I was approved to be an Etsy wholesaler. 

Find Natalia on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. 

The magnificent First Ancient theatre of Larissa was constructed in the first half of the 3rd century BC. My retail store is just 50 mts from this amazing site !🎇😉👌The theatre still used by the municipality as an outdoor place of church gatherings, which in ancient Larissa has the ancient name of "agora" #greekancientsites #greektourism #larissa #ancienttheatreoflarisa #ancienttheaters #ancientgreece

A video posted by Color Latino Jewelry (@colorlatinojewelry) on Jan 8, 2017 at 5:44am PST

Spire Trend: Which is the ONE piece of jewelry you have in your shop that you love most? 


Natalia Norena: I have several pieces that I love, however I will highlight these two.

Chunky tagua bracelet with orange, garnet and turquoise nuts. {Buy Here}

Orange tagua earrings with mixed metals lines (brass and alpaca) and green jade– sterling silver hook {Buy Here}

Thank you Natalia! Find some of our favorites pieces from ColorLatinoJewelry below. 

Tagua nut brooch with white nut, black lava Santorini and chocho beads {Buy Here}

Red tagua brooch with white freshwater pearls- Sterling silver clasp {Buy Here}

Tagua necklace with garnet beads and acai nuts {Buy Here}

Long tagua necklace with carved purple pendant {Buy Here}

Garnet tagua nut earrings with white crystals and acai beads {Buy Here}

White tagua earrings with silver wire, red coral and black lava beads- sterling silver hook and clasps {Buy Here}

Garnet bead ring made of tumbaga with tagua nut wrapped with brass wire {Buy Here}

Tagua nut ring painted by hand and wrapped in a hammered brass base {Buy Here}

Petrol blue bead ring made of tumbaga with tagua nut wrapped with brass wire {Buy Here}

Large tagua bracelet with colorful tagua nuts {Buy Here}

Long modern earrings made of hammered tumbaga with turquoise tagua nuts and semiprecious stones - sterling silver hooks and clasps. {Buy Here}