After studying at the Art Institute of Philadelphia in the 1980s, Crystel Cabrera has enjoyed a long, successful career in graphic design. She served as an award-winning creative director for respected lifestyle publications, until she left the publishing world to start her own design firm in 1996.

Some years later, when she moved to Fort Lauderdale and married Alex Cabrera, she decided it was time to return to the corporate world, which offers more predictable hours than working with her usual high-profile clients. (And more time to spend with her husband and on her own creative pursuits.)

Her education and wide experience in design help inform her jewelry creation endeavors, of course. But she says it’s not at all the same. Working entirely for herself, on her own time, doing what she loves makes all the difference.