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I first came across Janine when she started following me on Twitter.  She is from The Netherlands.  Her father is Dutch while her mother has "Thai, Chinese and Scottish blood running in her veins".   Janine, her husband and their dog haven't really had a fixed address for the past 6 years because they have been traveling around the world in a mobile home converted from a truck (they are on  their second). Hers is a mobile jewelry store!

[Image] Esfera Jewelry stall in front of their mobile home at a RV site in Germany I asked Janine to tell me more about her adventures so she sent me this wonderful synopsis which I have shared here almost verbatim :

"After almost 20 years working as a CPA/CA and management consultant with lots of stress, my husband and I decided to change our lives in 2005.

[Image] Esfera Jewelry in Greece We bought a Mercedes Benz truck, converted it into a mobile home and sold our house and both our consultancy businesses. We decided to drive from The Netherlands to Nepal. From Nepal we drove back to Iran and crossed the Persian Gulf to the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

[Image] Esfera Jewelry in Iran
[Image] Esfera in Dubai  In Dubai I met Dr. Marc Sinclair, an orthopedic surgeon who just founded a charity to help children with musculoskeletal problems: The Little Wings Foundation. It was there I re-discovered my love for creating jewelry. I created jewelry to sell at markets, the revenue going to the charity. I’m still actively involved in this charity as a volunteer (director and treasurer).

[Image] Shopping for ribbons, buttons etc at a haberdashery store in Satwa, Dubai After Dubai we returned briefly to The Netherlands to move “house” and work and went off again to Spain to cross over to Morocco.

[Image] Janine bought jewelry made from Brazilian golden grass from a Portuguese artisan We have seen so many beautiful things as well as things which made us reconsider our original (biased) opinions. We have seen unbelievable wealth as well as heartbreaking poverty. And everywhere we went we have met lots of lovely, sweet people.

Currently we are back in the Netherlands, to see our family and friends and to work.

[Image] Jewelry photography on the road Wherever we are, I’m on the look out for beads and other findings like silk, ribbons, buttons. I have developed a serious addiction for beautiful beads. As we are a wee bit restricted with space I had to throw out some of my clothes to create space for my ever expanding collection of beads. Ah well, who need clothes if you can have beads!

We are often in countries with gorgeous weather so you can find me sitting outside, surrounded by bags and bags of beads, tools and heaps of ribbon and silk. Often painted metal findings are drying, hanging on a washing line. Which all must be looking a wee bit weird because it often attracts people, watching what I’m doing.

[Image] Esfera Jewelry in Nepal I sell my jewelry on line through Etsy (Esfera Jewelry) and at the places where we have parked our little house. I’m often ask to do custom work for other travelers, using beads they have found during their travels. Or to do repair work.

[Image] Statement necklace with bead embroidered malachite cabochon My husband and I consider ourselves so lucky that we can lead this life."

What a wonderful story! Only a dedicated beader would toss out clothes to make room for beads!

Before You Go:
A Floating Jewelry Store  Would You Buy from a Jewelry Vending Machine  A Day of Jewelry Selling on Etsy
Disclosure
This blog may contain affiliate links. I do receive a small fee for any products purchased through affiliate links. This goes towards the support of this blog and to provide resource information to readers. The opinions expressed are solely my own. They would be the same whether or not I receive any compensation.
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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM
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