Meet Maile Ellington of Maile Stones in Santa Barbara

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maile Ellington.

Maile, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was 25 and at a crossroad in my life. When I met this man, who had lived for 17 years in North Africa. He showed me this incredible strand of Neolithic stone beads in Amazonite and Stiotite that he had collected during his time there. These beads had been carved three-five thousand years ago… And here I was, sitting in a bar in rural Oregon holding them in my hand… I was completely smitten; with the beads that are, and I felt called to do this work in this era… I immediately began learning the art of stone cutting or lapidary.

That moment began this decades-long adventure into the wonderful world of stones and the fascination of working intimately with them. I have hand carved thousands of stones from all over the world since that time. And the style of my jewelry has changed over the years, but some things have always remained at the center of my work. We honor the stones we work with, grateful for their properties and beauty and acknowledge what a privilege it is to work with them.

I still hand select every piece of rough stone that comes into the studio and my team and I hand-carve every stone in-house that we use in the jewelry that we make, which is quite unique in this age! We are keeping alive an ancient art form and bring to our work the desire to be in right relationship with the earth, with each other and our community.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Lol… no, it hasn’t always been a smooth road! Believe me, there were days that I called my dear friend Myla in tears and asked her if I was crazy. A steady paycheck sounded like the most beautiful and exotic thing in the world.

Quite honestly it is still a challenge, keeping up with computer technology alone: the way our email company interfaces with our website and POS system, or data storage… these are constant ever-changing questions in a climate quickly advancing technology.

And we artfully hand-carved stones in an age of the race to the bottom… an age of producing everything faster and cheaper with throwaway labor. We consciously choose another way… we are standing for what we believe in… art, beauty, and right-relationship that is what we want to champion in the world.

The community that this has created over the years is phenomenal, the team at Maile stones, our clientele, have made all the challenges more than worth it. Beautiful people are a joy to work with.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Maile Stones – what should we know?
We create outrageously beautiful hand-carved stone jewelry that adorns the body and feeds the soul.

We are known for the unique and timeless look of our pieces, letting the stones authentic voice come through Clean and clear. We love and honor our natural materials and this beautiful mother earth they come from, working to procure stones that are ethically sourced. We relish and encourage the creation of community through our work which means developing emotionally meaningful connections with people.

Having a small business affords us the opportunity to hear stories of how people connect and create time care for each other. Like two of our clients meeting in the Charles de Gaulle airport when they recognized each other as part of our Stone Lovers’ Tribe by the stones they were wearing and fell into easy conversation and then ongoing friendship.

The team at Maile Stones call themselves “Team Rock the World” and our weekly Team meetings have become a source of connection and inspiration for us all. We actively support each other in becoming the people we want to be in our lives which we believe is reflected in the work we do.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
So many… My dear friend Myla who I already mentioned. As you might have noticed through the questions thus far… I usually use “we” in speaking about my work, because it truly takes a tribe.

Emily is running the office, Ryan and Levi helping with the cutting, Laurel heading up the “Show Angels” of our sales team. Even my god-daughter Luna comes in after school to lend her expertise.

My women’s circle has been meeting for over 11 years, and I can not even begin to tell how much moral and physical support they have lent…

My sensei/coach who helps keep it real. And I have a client, Janet that has literally been a guardian angel collector and becomes a dear friend along the way.

Pricing:

• Most pieces are priced between $200- $2000

Contact Info:

• Address: 615 De La Vina #2 Santa Barbara Ca 93101
• Website: www.mailestones.com
• Phone: 8058982220
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mailestones/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mailestones/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mailestones
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/maile-stones-santa-barbara?osq=Maile+Stones

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.