Nature has always been one of Valerie Madison’s greatest sources of inspiration. From the plants nurtured around her home to the landscapes of the Pacific Northwest and the natural beauty she encounters in Mexico, the world around her often finds its way into her jewelry designs.
As part of our Hispanic Heritage Month series, Valerie is sharing some of the fine jewelry designs that resonate with her Mexican heritage and personal experiences. In Part Two, she explores the stories behind the Monstera pendant and the Hummingbird pendant, two designs inspired by the natural world and the memories that make it feel like home.
A Monstera That Started With Her Mom
Valerie’s connection to the monstera plant is especially personal.
She once received a cutting from her mom many years ago which grew into a thriving plant of her own. That original connection to family eventually became part of the inspiration behind her Monstera jewelry design.
Today, you can find a Monstera plant thriving right here in our Seattle showroom. It has become a little piece of home within the studio, connecting Valerie’s personal life, her family, and her work as a jewelry designer.
The Monstera also holds another meaningful connection for Valerie: Mexico.
Monsteras are abundant throughout Mexico, and Valerie loves seeing them when she visits. Their large, sculptural leaves are hard to miss, and encountering them there brings together two things that are deeply connected to her design perspective: her Mexican heritage and her love of nature.
A Monstera leaf is naturally sculptural, with its distinctive shape and dramatic curves. Valerie took those qualities and reimagined them in gold, turning a familiar piece of the natural world into something that can be worn and treasured.
See our complete Monstera collection: Monstera Studs, Monstera Ring, Monstera Pendant Necklace, Monstera Dangles.
The Hummingbird: A Gardener's Inspiration
Valerie is also an avid gardener, so it is no surprise that some of her favorite moments in nature happen right in her own garden.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, hummingbirds are frequent visitors, and Valerie loves seeing them while she is gardening. Their tiny size, incredible speed, and flashes of color make them especially captivating to watch.
For someone who spends time nurturing plants and paying attention to the small details of nature, a hummingbird is the kind of fleeting moment that can easily become a source of creative inspiration.
There is something magical about watching one appear while you're working in the garden, hovering for just a moment before disappearing again.
The Hummingbird design began with Valerie's love of seeing these birds in nature and became an exercise in translating that experience into fine jewelry.
Today, there are two versions of the Hummingbird Pendant: Ruby and Emerald.
The gemstones bring their own sense of life and color to the design, while the gold gives the hummingbird a lasting form.
There is also a special quality to seeing a design move from an idea or drawing into an actual piece of gold. Valerie's Hummingbird is an example of that process: taking something she loves seeing in the natural world and interpreting it through her own design language.
Discover the Heritage Collection
These designs are just a few of the ways Valerie’s heritage, family, and connection to nature continue to shape her work.
The Heritage Collection is deeply personal, bringing together pieces inspired by the celebration of culture, memory, motherhood, family, and transformation.
We invite you to explore the collection and discover the stories behind each design for yourself.
Visit us at our Seattle showroom to see the pieces in person, or explore the Heritage Collection online and find a piece that speaks to your own story, too.