JOURNAL

Words are funny things. They're small. Commonplace. We move through hundreds of them every day without pausing to feel what they carry. But they can hold so much power. They're like tiny vessels carrying oceans of emotion, memories, and experiences. They can comfort, inspire, motivate, and at times, transform us.

When I was little, I would scour the Sears catalog, circling and dog-earing every page that had something I hoped to receive from Santa or my parents. I loved flipping through the pages and imagining playing with each toy. But somewhere between that and growing up, it began to feel like doing that was gluttonous. It's not. It's communication.

In Conversation (em)powered words Christina Kober on language, legacy, and what it means to live with a word that is truly yours. What is (em)powered words? (em)powered words is a space for women who feel something shifting. Not loudly. Not all at once. More like a low, quiet awareness that the version of yourself you've been living in has started...

I want to clear something up.   (em)powered words is not a word-of-the-year practice. I want to say that directly, because "word of the year" is everywhere — and what I'm building is something different.   A word belongs to your life, not to a calendar. It starts when you need it. It ends when you've grown through it. Sometimes...

  There are moments when something starts to shift within you. Not loudly. Not all at once. Almost beneath the surface. You feel it in small ways at first. A thought you can’t ignore. A tension that keeps returning. A sense that the version of you you’ve been living no longer fits. (em)powered words is a space for women who...

An honest breakdown of 14k gold, gold fill, sterling silver, and gold plating; durability, wear, and how to choose confidently.

I spent a long time believing something about me needed fixing. Not in a dramatic way.More in a low, constant hum beneath everything I did. If I could explain myself better.If I could soften the edges.If I could anticipate what was expected.If I could be easier to understand, easier to be around.

It All Began With a Fortune Cookie It began long before I ever made jewelry. When I was a child, my parents and I had a favorite place to eat—what I affectionately called the fortune cookie restaurant. I remember playing with the owner’s daughter, sneaking candies into the Buddha statue’s mouth, rubbing his belly for luck, and savoring the moment...

Choosing a word is one thing. Living with it is another. My word is untamed, and I’ve been carrying it with me quite literally. I made myself a ring with the word stamped into it so I can see it throughout the day. I can also feel it on my finger, the weight of it. That physical reminder helps me pause,...

Let’s talk about value—not just the kind measured in dollars, but the kind you feel. Jewelry lives in a uniquely intimate space. It rests against your skin. It moves with you. You reach for it in quiet moments, tracing a word or phrase when you need grounding, courage, or reassurance. That relationship matters to me deeply because every piece I make...

  I’m Christina (yes there is a real, live Christina)! I started making jewelry in a tiny kitchen where I had to choose between cooking dinner or making jewelry—never both. (Spoiler: jewelry usually won.) What began as a curiosity turned into a business, a team, and a whole lot of meaningful pieces made by hand, start to finish. Moving into...

The last twelve years have been a blur of pushing and hoping—building a business, raising a family, holding myself together through loss. My dad’s long decline, infertility, realizing the dream I was chasing wasn’t actually mine. Each grief layered onto the next, and I kept going by becoming smaller, quieter, numb.After my dad died, the hope I’d been carrying finally...

There’s a lot of pressure at the start of a new year to reinvent yourself. To fix what’s unfinished.To become more disciplined, more productive, more something. But there is another way to begin—one that doesn’t demand reinvention, only honesty. Instead of resolutions, I choose a word. A single word that feels like an anchor. A word I can return to...

It’s that time of year again — cozy season. The air feels a little crisper, the days a little shorter, and suddenly all I want to do is settle in for a holiday movie marathon. As an introvert through and through, there’s nothing better than curling up on the couch with a soft blanket wrapped around me, a mug of...

My love language is giving gifts. I love taking the time to really think about the recipient — who they are, their hobbies, inside jokes, the little things they’ve mentioned wanting or needing. All of these details go into my gift planning. Even the packaging is part of the story — favorite colors, flowers, or the theme of the gift...

Grief is sneaky. Sometimes it crashes in like a waterfall, knocking the wind out of you. Other times it comes quietly, like the soft lapping of waves against a lake. Today, it crept in through small triggers that pulled me under :  It began with a movie. Then came the memory of our father-daughter dance. An embrace felt again. His...

I love wearing a stack of bracelets, they are like little conspirators in joy. They don’t announce themselves the way a necklace or pair of earrings might. Instead, they sit quietly on your wrist, waiting for those small, stolen glances throughout the day. And it’s in those moments—a flash of silver, a word tucked into the curve of your wrist,...

I’ve been making production jewelry for nearly my entire career—it’s how I make my living. But while preparing a workshop to teach other jewelers how to approach production, I had a bit of a realization: most people don’t know what “production jewelry” really means.  And honestly? I don’t blame you. It’s not something we (makers) talk about, and it definitely...