From Ship Decks to Jewelry Chests: Christine Kesteloo’s Travel-Inspired Collection
Welcome aboard! Join me on an exciting voyage into my life at sea, from navigating across oceans to crafting jewelry collections inspired by my world travels. As someone who has spent over a decade working on and off ships, and who’s now a content creator living at sea alongside my seafarer husband, I’ve found myself waking up in a new destination in every corner of the world each day. I’ve discovered the beauty of the world, far and wide, and want to share that with others through the gift of travel-inspired jewelry. So come aboard and let’s set sail on a journey like no other…
Let’s Start At The Beginning
Growing up in a small farming community in Iowa I never dreamt I would one day be calling a Cruise Ship my home. I also never expected to marry a Dutch Seafarer and spend my 40s struggling to learn Dutch and ride a bicycle, everywhere.
My name is Christine Kesteloo, I’m 42 years old and I live on a Cruise Ship. I didn’t get hit with the travel bug until the age of 30 and in the last 12 years, I have racked up a total of 108 countries.
Throughout my travels, I always collected one tangible item to hold memories and that was jewelry. In every country a piece of jewelry would find me and I would add it to my collection. My jewelry is my storybook. I can look at a piece and tell you where I bought it and how I was feeling at that moment. Some of my pieces are expensive, some are not expensive, some handcrafted, and some I bought entirely for the fact that I had two piña coladas at sunset and needed to commemorate the moment as my credit card sang a song called “YOLO” You Only Live Once!
To say the least, jewelry has been and will always be very important to me.
My Travel-Inspired Collection With Dune
When I met Holly, the owner and founder of Dune, it was as if I knew right away we would be working together. She started this business from the ground up. It’s women-run and filled with passion. Let me get one thing straight. I bring the travel inspiration and she brings the designs to life.
I am connected to stones such as Larimar, Abalone Shell, and Elements I see during my journey. With the Traveler Collection, I wanted everyone to be able to design their own piece with their own travels. With the Larimar I wanted people to wear the pieces and feel connected to the ocean whether sitting in an office, cooking dinner for the family, or planning their next vacation. And with the 7 Continents Collection, I wanted everyone to feel one with the world. How universal it is to wear an element from all seven continents!
Working with Dune Jewelry and Owner and Designer Holly has allowed me to combine my love of travel and jewelry. I hope you find your story in one of the pieces in these vast collection. But be prepared. Most get hooked on Dune, become “Dunies” and have a jewelry chest full of “Stories”.
If you want to see what it feels like to embody your inner world traveler and wear a design made with elements from all 7 continents, check out my collection.
– Christine Kesteloo
