Celene Stones: A whirlwind dream

My days moonlighting as a contributor of Sweet Lemon result in curating a lot of trends and what’s hip in a world over saturated with fashion “bloggers”, #OOTD, and overly filtered Instagrams.

Now try and believe it- I found a fashion hidden gem (pun unintended, but great nonetheless) by word of mouth. I know, I know- what is this? I held a conversation with someone and they discovered someone designing jewelry without a website, a Facebook, or guerrilla marketing campaign in the webisphere of “Cute Little Black Dress Blog” or “WearingPearlsAndPinkIntheCity.blogspot.com”?!

**Editor’s note: Not real fashion blogs. Contributor created these names as satire. Any resemblance to any publication is merely coincidental.

Low and behold- Celene Stones, founded by Krista Hanline, a 1st grade teacher and part-time stylist in Charlotte, NC.

As I sat in my office late on another mundane Wednesday night, a friend of mine came by to make small talk. Within the first two minutes, I grabbed her wrist to gush over her bangle. A variation of stones, gems, and charms, it possessed a simplistic, original yet fashionably loud look that I hadn’t seen before.

Krista, her high school friend, designed and created the bangle and I needed to know more.

Krista, on the weekends is a buyer and stylist for Charlotte based boutique, Lotus.

For her weekend job, Krista attended different classes in the area to hone her fashion skills. The defining one happened to be a jewelry making class. She began creating the bracelets for friends and one of those women Instagrammed a shot of her custom made piece from Krista and the whirlwind began.

“When it was first happening… the Instagram reaction, within 45 minutes of the picture being posted I got nine emails for orders… I had only a half a yard of wire and seven stones on me.” Krista said.

She’d make a set for one group of women and then they’re friends would want them. Before she knew it, Krista’s boss at Lotus wanted to carry the accessories in the boutique.

The jewelry line is named after Krista’s grandmother, Celene. Celene, a woman who is the ever consummate fashionista with her hot pink lipstick, loves the line. And she isn’t the only one.

With Celene Stones being barely a month old it’s now being carried in three locations in Charlotte and pieces have been shipped to nine different states all over the country.

While you can create your own piece, collaborating with Krista every step of the way, she also has ten set designs named after her closest female friends and relatives in her life. You can see many displayed on her Instagram including-

• Baby Blues
• Boss
• The Celene
• Gracie
• Greek Goddess
• Heaven Sent
• Lucky Charm
• Royals
• Rock Star
• Unicorn Dreams

If you’re interested in ordering your own custom made Celene Stones bracelet, contact Krista at or follow her on Instagram at for constant updates on the latest stones, customization options, and finished products coming from her ever creative mind.

Orders can also be placed through Lotus’ , , and website.

By