We had the good fortune of connecting with Nicole Foos and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicole, what’s the most important thing you’ve done for your children?
I think the most important thing I’ve done as a parent is to strive to listen to them from a non-judgemental standpoint and thereby let them work through issues to come to their best and most well-reasoned decisions of their own accord, and, more importantly, be who they are, not who they think I or my husband (and their father) wants them to be. I grew up in a very loving home but one with very high expectations (which for the most part served me well) and lots of judgment which I think made me very conscious of not being with my children. I feel confident that I have achieved this for the most part and my children have actually thanked me for it, unprompted. I understand completely, with all of the competition in the world, especially with regard to getting into schools, getting good jobs, making money, etc, where a parent of young children feels the temptation to push them, even mold them in certain ways, and of course there are many ways to encourage, but I think going too far in this regard ends up backfiring in the end, resulting in the child’s resentment toward the parent. I am deeply grateful for the relationships I have with my son and daughter, both now in their 20’s, and both of whom I’m very close with, and am thoroughly enjoying their adulthood so far!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I make Power Piece jewelry with crystals of every nature and, usually, Sterling Silver. I work with the individuality and uniqueness of each stone which “tells” me what to do with it in order to bring out its beauty and power. I love crystals and have do so my entire life; I am immensely grateful to have found this way to work with them. Bringing each piece to the point where it’s ready for its new owner brings me immense joy every time. I feel very blessed as I have had the opportunity to do so many interesting things in my life so far. I went to law school directly from college and then practiced law as a litigator for 14 years during which I got married and had my two children, then took a few years off to be at home with them, then had an event planning company for ten years with a friend, and while I was doing that started to feel like I needed more of a creative outlet which I struggled with finding for a long time. I eventually (about six years ago now) took a sculpting class, and I feel like that opened the door to my having the epiphany about the way I wanted to make my jewelry. Working with the crystals then led to learning about using them for healing work, which then led to my studying various other healing modalities such as Reiki, breathwork, Ayurveda, Yoga Therapy, Aromatherapy, Tarot, Astrology, Shamanism…..I just can’t get enough, and I feel that all of these areas of study inform the evolution of my jewelry pieces as well.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First of all, my friend and I would do a lot of walking and hiking in Malibu at Solstice Canyon, in Mandeville Canyon and Paseo Miramar, in Runyon, and of course at the beach. I would eat at mostly plant-based restaurants such as Kreation (one of my go to’s), The Butcher’s Daughter and Plant Food and Wine on Abbott Kinney, as well as Gjelina, Gjusta, Tasting Kitchen, Republique on La Brea, AOC on 3rd Street, Bestia and Bavel downtown. We would also walk around fun shopping areas – again, Abbott Kinney, Silverlake, La Brea, and to cultural events such as the movie screenings at the cemetery, something at the Hollywood Bowl, a play at the Pantages, etc.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to shout out to two people: first of all, my father, who always “saw” me, recognized my intelligence and supported it, plus was always there to talk things through with me from such a well-reasoned standpoint, and secondly my husband, Garson, who knows me inside and out, has infinite patience with all the morphings I have gone through to reach where I am today, and enjoys the process along with me.

Website: http://www.nvisionbynicolefoos.com
Instagram: @nvisionbynicolefoos
Linkedin: Nicole Foos
Twitter: @nvisionbyNF
Facebook: NVision by Nicole Foos

Image Credits
For the picture of me – Myra Vides For the jewelry photos – Kat Tuohy