"Shower thoughts" is a phrase the AMJ team has heard Angela mention from time to time. She explains that she's often in the shower when she has a creative breakthrough or a moment of clarity. The inception of Portal was during one of these downloads, and set in motion a series of events that eventually led to this project's fruition.

"There was no singular source of inspiration", explains Angela, "It was more of an intuitive feeling that led me to through the process". Angela saw the Moonstone and Moss Agate gemstones in their raw, natural states and realized she didn't see these stones used in jewelry as often as she'd like. "I design what I like to see in the world", she says, and she did just that when she began sketching each individual piece. Nature is always at the center of Angela Monaco's designs, and she continually relied on natural motifs to draw inspiration for her creations.

This collection was a chance for Angela to demonstrate the two sides of her personality. One side is earthy, grounded, and focused while the other side is spiritual, curious, and full of wanderlust. The shapes of the pieces also allude to these traits; hexagonal and kite shapes are angular and sharp, and the roundness of the pear and infinity shapes demonstrate a softness. 

As Angela is stepping into her new role as fine jewelry designer and spiritual teacher, she specifically chose to launch Portal during eclipse season. Outer space and both lunar & solar eclipses are represented by Moonstone and solid 14k yellow gold. The grounded Earth is represented by sterling silver & Moss Agate.

She goes on to explain that, "In my own personal and spiritual development, I've faced the polarities of light and shadow; of earth and space. These two crystals were chosen to represent these aspects of my own personal journey the last few years."

Our intention with the Portal Collection is to summon and inspire you to bravely focus on your voyage and realization of self-love, inner clarity, and renewed hope.

Coming up with the names for new designs is always really fun but sometimes one of the hardest aspects of a new launch. To our surprise, naming the pieces for this collection was something that came naturally since we focused on staying true to our inspiration sources and to our main themes: nature, eclipses, and portals. During our research, we became familiar with the different stages of eclipses and decided that the names of these stages were a good fit with our designs. We spent some time creating a word bank with the portal theme at the center of it, and also found some interesting terms that we ultimately adapted into unique names.

It's no surprise that the visionary behind this collection is unable to choose just one favorite. What Angela will say, however, is that this collection can be worn by everyone. There's versatility with the Portal Collection: pricing begins at $80, there are both sterling silver and solid yellow gold pieces, there are pieces with or without stones, there are dainty pieces as well as statement pieces, and they are both feminine and masculine designs. Each piece can be layered or worn on its own, and every single piece contains the signature Angela Monaco earthy texture.