Malibuite launches jewelry line with best friend

Inspired by their worldly travels and a friendship that has lasted more than a decade, Malibu resident Chelsea Bulte and Kristin Cavallari recently partnered together to launch jewelry line Emerald Duv.

“I had been doing jewelry for awhile and Kristin said, ‘I want to do something with you – let’s join forces,’” Bulte said.

The two friends met while dating guys who were best friends about 11 years ago. After those relationships ended, Bulte and Cavallari remained friends.

The line’s name – Emerald Duv – also has a very personal meaning to the two friends.

“We both have babies born in May and wanted to come up with a name that resembled both of us,” Bulte said of her son Cade and Cavallari’s son Camden. “We used their birthstone – emerald – and doves come in a pair, or twos.”

Launching this past October and making its debut at Planet Blue, Bulte describes the line as “boho” and a tribute to their adventures abroad.

“It also incorporates different pieces and designs from our travels,” she said. “We take some stuff from old tribal days and bring some of that into the pieces. We repeat some pieces and add our own twists. It’s eclectic in some ways and in some ways not.”

Some items in the current line are named after Central and South American countries – Argentina, Belize and Peru – as well as other international locales.

“I’ve done a lot of traveling around the world,” Bulte said. “I spent time in Indonesia for a couple months and I’ve been to several towns in Mexico that inspired me with bright colors. We’ve incorporated things we’ve seen throughout our travels into our pieces.

“I’ve always had a love for New Mexico and Mexico and it has stuck with me. We wanted to get a good solid line out there with those types of pieces.”

Bulte first began designing jewelry while she worked at Planet Blue years ago. 

“I’ve always loved designing and I’m very artistic,” she said. “I design things I know I would like to wear. For me, that’s my way of releasing stress and I know it’s the same way for Kristin. We have ideas we want to get out there.

“For me, it’s a therapeutic way of getting stuff off my chest. What better way to do it than designing jewelry?”

With Emerald Duv, Bulte said she designs the jewelry with women in their 20s to 40s in mind. 

“We try to do stuff that the younger generation will like, but an older generation will wear, too,” she said. “We don’t want to cater to young girls or older women; we want the span in between.”

A lover of arrows, Bulte said one of her favorite pieces is Rayong, a drop arrow necklace.

“To me, I just really like that piece,” she said. “I like how it ended up being designed and laid out. It also happened to be one of the best sellers. For whatever time in my life, I’ve been into chunky jewelry. 

“Arrows are something that I’ve always been into. It goes with a lot of things and it’s a statement piece. I can throw on a T-shirt and jeans and make an outfit with it.”

Bulte said giving back is also important to Emerald Duv. The pair created a Survivor necklace with a percentage of the proceeds donated to finding a cure for breast cancer.

“My mom had breast cancer and she caught it in the early stages,” Bulte said. “It awoke me in other ways and it makes you realize how precious life is. We want to be able to give back with our line. We’d like to do other things and pick something every month.” 

Tentatively scheduled for a March 2015 release, Emerald Duv will release its second line that Bulte said will feature more of Cavallari’s influences.

“The next line is inspired by her angle – she likes simplicity,” Bulte said. “It’s where our life is right now. We’re not doing a lot of traveling, but more vacationing. It’s a simple time in our lives and it’s about raising our kids because that’s the most important thing to us.

“Being a mom, you can’t wear the chunky jewelry because it’s too much. We are making more simpler things.”

Simplicity is  just one of the reasons Bulte loves living in Malibu.

“Honestly, I just love the simplicity,” she said. “It’s quiet and I like the small town feel. Everyone is very family-oriented.”

Bulte also added that eventually they will add bags and clothing to Emerald Duv as well.

For more information ,visit www.emeraldduv.com.