Christina GreeneIsland Hopping Turquoise Orbital Earrings

Christina Greene McAllen, namesake and founder of the Christina Greene jewelry collection, was drawn to fashion and jewelry-making long before the company’s start in 2011. From a young age in Houston, TX, she had an eye for arranging and styling everything from outfits and accessories to furniture. For Christina, jewelry-making was a hobby that she loved, and she never imagined that her passion could launch into what it is today.Christina graduated with a degree in interior design from TCU. She wanted to take her education a step further by pursuing her master’s degree in fashion design and marketing. Christina made the leap and attended Parsons School of Design and achieved her goal of living in New York City and getting the full fashion-industry experience. Looking back, it’s clear that every step Christina took brought her to where she is today. While in NYC, Christina split her time interning for major fashion designers and working for a jewelry designer. In her role at the jewelry company, she gained insight that her hobby could grow into more. She was able to travel throughout India on the designer’s behalf and learned about how manufacturing and production works. During this time, Christina continued exploring her love for jewelry-making-- creating one-of-a-kind pieces for herself by repurposing old jewelry with new stones as well as experimenting with wire-wrapping. She wore one of her designs while attending a rodeo and a fellow attendee bought the piece off of her on the spot. Christina took this as a sign it was time to turn her hobby into a business and began shipping her unique jewelry pieces all over the country via her Etsy shop. She also began attending the Houston Livestock Show as a vendor-- and continues to every year. A Texan through and through, Christina knew there was only one place she’d want to headquarter her growing jewelry business. And with that, she moved back to Houston to start her brand. The Christina Greene jewelry line prides itself on being hypoallergenic and nickel-free. Each jewelry piece is crafted from brass and plated in 18K gold. While turquoise is the brand’s signature stone, the collection also features pearl, black onyx, labradorite, lapis, quartz, and more.