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"  Photo: Stephania Stanley Sara Beltran, founder of jewelry line Dezso, has a thing for the ocean. Inspired by the beach, sea, and nature, she has created beautiful pieces that are bohemian in sensibility and sophisticated in actuality. Beltran began her career as an assistant stylist, working with the legendary photographer Bruce Weber. While assisting Weber on a shoot in Hawaii, he caught sight of her handmade wooden necklace, and asked her to create 100 more, and an additional 100 bracelets and 100 charms for his clothing line. Beltran, who had previously only designed wooden jewelry, started exploring metalwork. &amp;quot;The first metal pieces were shells that I cast in gold and put on Mexican fabric,&amp;quot; she told ELLE.com  Photo: Stephania Stanley The designer has always loved to travel, and started working in retail at the age of 16 to save money for future vacations; &amp;quot;My first job was at Gap. I have worked everywhere! I wanted to save money to have this dream later on.&amp;quot; After feeling tired of the city and desperate for a change, Beltran decided to move to India. &amp;quot;I packed up and moved in one week!&amp;quot; Going to India was a pivotal moment for the designer&amp;#039;s career. She was exposed to new materials she&amp;#039;d never worked with, like stones, which opened up a whole new world. &amp;quot;A mentor of mine, gave me a sapphire and I made a bracelet\u2014the first piece of jewelry I ever created with a stone. Now, I love using polki diamonds as well as semi-precious stones.&amp;quot; Beltran believes that a series of positive influences have led her in this direction, and cites a poignant piece of advice from her father: &amp;quot;My dad&amp;#039;s biggest advice for me was that independence is costly, but absolutely priceless.&amp;quot; Her positive influences also extend to her guru, Ravi, and her shaman, Carlos, who were in attendance at Beltran&amp;#039;s fall presentation. &amp;quot;Anybody can be a guru, a guide in your life. They don&amp;#039;t have to be super spiritual, but someone who you trust.&amp;quot;   Photo: Stephania Stanley Related: Steal Airport Style from Your Favorite Celebs  Related: See the Must-Have Bag All the Models Are Carrying Related: Monique P\u00E9an Debuts Stunning, Sustainable Engagement Rings for the Alternative Bride "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/fashion/accessories/news/a24817/sara-beltran-dezso/>