Now You Can Wear Live Flowers Forever

Now You Can Wear Live Flowers Forever

PHOTO BY LANCE YAMAMOTO

Impressed by Nature turns lives flowers into delicate wearable jewelry.

Impressed by Nature offers jewelry and accessories that preserve the beauty of flower petals and leaves in an ingenious and wearable way. Owner and designer Kyla O’Neill gathers plants from her garden and other sources and presses them for a month or so before fashioning them into lightweight earrings, necklaces, cuff links, and tiepins.

The shape of the petal or leaf guides each design. O’Neill encases them in flexible and durable clear plastic so that they retain their botanical detail before cutting them by hand. The petal or leaf is complemented by hypoallergenic copper chains, links, wire, and in some cases, colored beads. Dainty Queen Anne’s lace, pink roses, bright yellow coreopsis, and purple and white hydrangeas are some of the blooms featured in the current line.

Impressed by Nature began as a hobby for the former elementary school teacher. “I received a bouquet of Peruvian lilies from my father after graduation and wanted to wear the flowers in some way,” O’Neill explained. “I made flower jewelry for myself and friends but never planned on making my hobby a business.” The turning point came on a trip to Maine when a shop owner asked where she could purchase the flower necklace O’Neill was wearing. The hobby became a part-time job in 2012 when received her first wholesale account from SFMOMA. Three years later, she transitioned into a full-time small business owner.

O’Neill is a member of the Makers Workspace in Berkeley, and her other passion (besides flowers) is community building. She is the founder of the Creative Pursuit Collective, a group of women entrepreneurs who meet monthly to provide support and share resources. It also sponsors business panels on starting small businesses, craft shows, working with stores, and online sales.

You can find Impressed by Nature jewelry online at BeImpressedByNature.com or at over 100 stores across the country and internationally, including Mischief, Bay-Made, and Concept 47 in the East Bay. Prices range from $28 to $70. Also offered on the website are flower-pressing kits (travel-sized and large) and wedding flower preservation services, where bouquets and boutonnieres can be pressed and made into accessories for the wedding party.

Faces of the East Bay