Expressing Nature’s Essentials
ESO Elements harnesses Earth’s natural resources—its minerals, metals, plants, animals, and world cultures—to create eclectic, strong, organic jewelry for those who want to stand out from the crowd.
Each piece is handcrafted of quality semi-precious stones, mixed metals, bones, shells, coral, and other natural and found objects. I often deliberately pick raw, rough, and misshapen materials because I find beauty in the imperfect. Flaws are like nature’s thumbprint; the stamp that something is real and organic, not plastic and cookie-cutter. And don’t we all want to be loved for our flaws, rather than in spite of them?
I also source vintage cultural objects as focal points. Not only is this a form of recycling, but I love the idea that humans worldwide share the need to create beauty, adorn themselves, and imbue jewelry with purpose, meaning, and ritual. And I find it fascinating that so many of the metaphysical traits attributed since ancient times to certain materials have roots in scientific properties discovered only recently.
I especially love to blend antique with new, hard-edged with soft, rustic with urbane, and East with West. The mashup between textures, colors, and cultures creates a good kind of tension—one that wakes up the senses and opens the mind. And that’s what ESO Elements jewelry is designed to do: start a conversation and tell a story.
Whether you’re a minimalist or maximalist, I hope you’ll find something in my limited-edition and one-of-a kind pieces that expresses your style and enhances your own tale. Thank you for exploring my shop!
ABOUT THE DESIGNER & MAKER
I’m Kimberly Singleton, and my background is as diverse as that of my pieces. Trained as an archaeologist with degrees in Near Eastern Archaeology and the history of 18th and 19th-century France and England, I’ve spent 25 years as an Exhibit Developer for museums, botanical gardens, and cultural institutions all around the globe.
So what’s an Exhibit Developer? A storyteller. My role is to work with scientists and designers to tell the tale of a plant, animal, rock, or culture in a way that the public can absorb and emotionally connect with. I use these same set of skills for jewelry-making as I travel the globe, source materials, craft each piece, and share its origin story in its listing description.
ESO ELEMENTS' ORIGINS
Like many Etsy businesses, ESO Elements, LLC is a product of the pandemic. After having spent six years living in and traveling between Oslo, Norway and Chicago, my husband and I suddenly found ourselves grounded at home. To bring myself a little more joy and hope, I decided to reignite my love for jewelry-making.
Luckily, I’d stockpiled supplies and treasures from my travels: Scandinavian Brutalist pendants picked up at Oslo flea markets, British bridle ornaments found in Tucson, tribal beads bought in Istanbul, and more. All of these I’ve used in the ESO Elements collection, including the Brass+Brand series, the Scandinavia+Sea series, and others.
In December 2024, we moved back to Oslo, and I'm now hard at work on my new, Scandi-centric designs, as well as my other international and historic styles—so stay tuned for more new pieces!
To learn more about my adventures in Oslo, Norway, check out my “A Newbie in Norway” blog at: https://anewbieinnorway.com/
