If you’re looking for some fun, brightly colored jewelry for spring, look no further than Washington, D.C. I recently met designer Cecilia Guerra of CG Originals and CeciG.

While growing up in Lima, Peru, designer Cecilia Guerra would make beaded and crocheted crafts, but never guessed that she would someday become a jewelry designer. Guerra has now lived in Washington, D.C., for decades, but still uses Peruvian beads and other materials for her rapidly growing jewelry line CG Originals.

Guerra bought Peruvian beads on trips to Peru, thinking she would create her own earrings and necklaces. “But I never did anything with those beads!” she laughs. But in 1991, Guerra attended a craft fair in D.C. where she was inspired by a Russian designer’s handiwork. “I can do that!” she says she thought to herself—and she did.

CG Originals

CeciG

Photos courtesy of Cecilia Guerra