My Travel Diary & The Inspo Behind the Best Anklets for 2022
Since the age of two, I have spent most of my summers on the Adriatic Sea. What was once called Yugoslavia is now called Montenegro - a beautiful country on the south of the Balkan Peninsula and right across the sea from Italy. My husband and our three children parked ourselves right by the sea eight years ago in a port called Porto Montenegro. This summer was unlike the others because I was all by myself working and finding time to bask in the sea and play in the mountains. I struggled quite a bit because of the absence of my family and dogs, and not to mention family-related issues in Serbia and a few unexpected family tragedies including most recently my dog Luca and my long time therapist Dr Deshotsky who both passed away unexpectedly. I was devastated and I know we don’t really have a rule book on grief but it struck me hard - really hard!
As they say "What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger"
I always knew that saying ‘what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger’. I found myself on the tipping point and what saved me —- Mother Nature and good company. I know I’ve talked about my connection to nature quite a bit, but it is truly the best therapy one can have, both in times of grief or happiness. Mother Nature is omnipresent in almost all aspects in my life - from countless Misahara Collections inspired by the mesmerizing tide (Plima Collection), enchanting dawns (Zora Collection) and breathtaking rivers (Drina Collection), to my everyday adventures visiting the most challenging parts of Montenegro’s wild beauty.
One of my favorite things this summer was taking off to the highlands of Montenegro.
Imagine hiking hours and hours, while breathing the freshest air. We finally settled on Maganik, whose rocks were extremely sharp and formations made out of limestone. Maganik is surrounded by many cute katuns (lodges) where people live during the summer. The hospitality of these people is truly unparalleled. When you descend upon a katun and come across them, they treat you as if you were family. The canyon slopes of the river Mrtvica are formed by Triassic, Jurassic and cretaceous limestones, which created a rich vertical jaggedness to the Maganik mass that appears quite frightening to the mountaineer. Its relief is enriched with deep karst hollows and the valley. Unbelievably beautiful. A must see!
I could not take my eyes off these rocks the entire time . Thanks to the expert mountaineers @highlander_kolasin and @jankscepanovic we managed to come out unscathed.
Nature as an inspiration for the Custom Mini Anklets Collection
To continue the adrenaline rush I managed to do three out of the seven canyons with our team and one bombshell @tarazu. We were jumping in the 20 degree water and repelling down ancient rocks. As a jewelry designer, I take every moment spent in nature to reflect on my brand and draw inspiration for my new designs. This is how I came about designing one of my fav pieces of jewelry - the anklets! Anklets for women have been present in the jewelry industry for quite some time, however only few were truly fine, designer anklets. Also, I was very drawn to the meaning of an anklet - they were worn ond the ankles and used as amulets due to their proximity to the ground, and they were considered as a sort of protection. I loved that. Going barefoot through Mother Nature while being able to wear my fav Misahara anklet, that at the same time protects me - was a no brainer.
I used my other Collections as the initial inspiration for the anklet charms and - you guessed it, it has all to do with nature. Cute rose gold butterflies, colorful gemstones, the moon and the stars are just some of the few designs of our 14k gold Mini Anklets. Since there are many charm designs I wanted to play with while creating my diamond anklets, I wanted to give our customers a chance to choose their favorite mix. That is why I decided, just like with our Mini stud earrings, to make them customizable. Yes, your very own custom anklets. You are welcome.
Living Bold, Wild & Free
Living on the edge is what I like. This is also reflected in my jewelry designs. Apart from being inspired by nature, I also love designing bold statement jewelry that evokes an emotion. Bold jewelry designs are my way of expressing how being adventure driven and rebellious can still result in a finest jewelry piece.
We did the Via Ferratta which is a path up a mountain that’s marked by a steel cable and you attach yourself to it with a harness that has two leashes. The cable is divided into short sections and as you move up the path you move your leashes to each new section. You’re always attached to the cable by at least one leash, so you can’t fall.
As you make your way up, you use the natural foot and handholds, but there are also rungs and bridges in places to make it easier to climb. We could not miss rafting the upper section of Tara River even though the water was at a disappointing low level but we somehow managed and had plenty of fun.
Diamond Anklets for Women - My New Passion Project
Because of my experiences in nature I was able to tackle my work agenda. Misahara never sleeps. It truly is a 24h-7 type of job. Thankfully I love what I do, so it comes easy for me. As I mentioned, I was ready to sell my diamond anklets idea to my team, and I was aware it was going to take hard work to make it happen. My main focus is always quality and unforgettable experience to my customers, so I spent the little time I had in the beautiful nature of Montenegro to charge my creative (but also operational!) batteries before I head back. Seeing the sea with the moonlight every night really helped that.
Most evenings I would stay in and have quite a bit of alone time. I found it was not only grounding but also necessary. Nightlife was somehow not a priority for me. Instead, I worked on my yoga from all sides spiritually - meditatively and flow thanks to practicing yoga at @yogamax. I also got on a few swims this summer but it was never enough for me! Next summer I will be ready, but for now what I’m also ready - is to go to my US home.
Next stop - home in California - stay tuned!
