Fair Trade Chokers - Then & Now

Do you remember the show Felicity? That was late 90s! I confess, I watched it most weeks. Twice I caught a glimpse of Tangi Miller, the actress that played the character, Elena Tyler wearing our fair trade choker! Crazy right? I jumped up with my camera and snapped pictures of the television screen. (If you're reading this blog, Tangi, I am so sorry. I know the bottom image here is not the best. But heck, I was just way too excited to see our choker featured on a TV show.) At the time, we had press nods in Seventeen, Teen Magazine, Jump and others - but I rarely was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of our designs on the tube. This net choker was such a popular style back then.

Dunitz & Company was one of the very first to bring handmade beaded jewelry from Guatemala to the USA. Perhaps you've read our About Section on our website about how beading is not indigenous to Guatemala and how I collaborated with an American and a German woman living there at the time. They both created beadwork and with them, we taught Mayan women to create beadwork.  Our early designs like this one were simple. But oh wow, was this one as popular as ever. For years we offered it in every color combination under the sun. One of my favorites was the combo that Tangi is actually wearing in the top photo here. That mint/pink/burgundy combo looked like candy.  (We don't offer this design anymore. I'm certain there are importers that do.)

Here's another time I caught a glimpse of our fair trade choker on TV. Do you remember Dayna Devon sharing entertainment news on Extra? Dayna is such a beautiful woman, and I know this shot is terrible. Heck, her eyes are half closed.  Back then there was no DVR. I could not stop and rewind and stop again - snapping over and over to get my best shot.  (So, again, Dayna, if you ever see this blog, I'm sorry for the unflattering photo. Of course, I loved that you were wearing a Dunitz & Company choker.)

What goes around comes around. And we are thrilled Chokers are back in style with a vengeance. Dunitz & Company is now offering many fair trade chokers and lariats. And now more than in the late 90s, our designs are more complicated... & well, I think leaps and bounds more beautiful. We sell to many retail stores and we are also offering some great designs online.  One of our favorites and most popular is our Itsa Spear Choker. This one is created with all sorts of Czech & Japanese beads and leather cord.

Don't you think this design would be beautiful on you? If you're wearing one of our designs, please send us a photo of you modeling. We'd be thrilled to share them with our readers. And, Tangi or Dayna, if you're reading we'd love to outfit you in some our latest designs. Just let us know! -ND