Handmade · small batch · one pair of hands
Real shells, edged by hand with freshwater pearls and hung on gold chain. Zoie makes every piece one at a time, and no two shells have ever matched.
Dezzert Zo is Zoie, one person at one bench in Tucson, turning real seashells into necklaces, bracelets and rings. Everything is made in small batches, finished by hand, and shipped out to NMA Designs on the California coast.
Made here
Every piece is built at one bench in the Sonoran desert, which is about as far from a beach as jewelry made of shells can get.
Sold there
Finished pieces are boxed and shipped west to NMA Designs, the family design company on the Mendocino coast.
Desert in, ocean out. Zoie works out of Tucson, so nothing here is made at the beach it came from, and every order posted from the site is packed and sent by the same person who built it.
The pieces
The catalog stays small on purpose. Every piece is finished by hand before it leaves the bench, so what you buy is the one Zoie actually made, down to the shell.
Shell, pearls, gold chain
A single shell, rimmed by hand with freshwater pearls and hung on gold chain. Scallops, cowries, spirals, sea glass. What's available depends on what Zoie finds worth using.
Fine chain, made to stack
Delicate gold chain with small charms, built to be layered and worn every day. Wear one on its own or have a set made to go with a necklace.
Pearls and raw stones
Pearl clusters, raw amber and citrine, hammered signet discs in gold and silver. Small runs, sized by hand. If your size isn't in stock, Zoie makes it rather than sell you a close enough.
Gallery
Real pieces, photographed as they were finished. Click any of them to see it full size.
How they're made
This is the actual order of work, not a story told after the fact. It is also why a custom piece takes a couple of weeks instead of a couple of days.
Shells are picked over one at a time. Anything chipped, thin or off-colour goes back, which is most of them.
Each shell is cleaned and prepped, then matched to a chain and a bail before anything is set.
Pearls go on by hand, one at a time, following the ridge of that particular shell. This is the slow part.
Clasp pulled on, chain checked, piece cleaned and boxed before it ships or goes to the shop.
Meet Zoie
Dezzert Zo is Zoie, and that is the whole company. She finds the shells, designs the pieces, sets the pearls, and packs the boxes. When you send a message through this site, she is the one who reads it.
Working that way puts a ceiling on how much can be made in a month. It also means nothing goes out with someone else's standards on it.
Where to find us
Dezzert Zo is a vendor for NMA Designs, the design company run by Zoie's grandfather. It was the first place to carry her work, and it is still the place to go if you want to see a piece in person, in the box, before you buy it.
Fort Bragg sits on the Mendocino coast in Northern California, a working harbour town with a beach made of sea glass. A fitting place to sell jewelry built out of what the tide leaves behind.
About the place
Fort Bragg's Glass Beach is a former dump site that the Pacific spent decades tumbling smooth, until the shore filled up with sea glass. It is a fitting place for a shelf of shell jewelry, and it is a short walk from the middle of town.
Say hello
Custom orders, wholesale, or a question about a piece you saw. Every message goes straight to Zoie, and she is the one who answers.
How to reach Zoie
Use the form. It goes straight to her inbox and she answers it herself, usually within a day or two.
See it in person
NMA Designs, Fort Bragg, California.
Follow along
@dezzertzo on Instagram — new pieces go up there first, and she takes orders by DM.
Made to order
Custom pieces are built one at a time, so Zoie will give you a date when she knows what you want.