Elizabeth has been masterfully crafting jewelry since she was 15 years old. Her father, artisan, jeweler and award winning Native American Indian, Ted Chraveze was known worldwide for his excellence in crafting distinctive one-of-a-kind, exquisite pieces of fine jewelry in gold and precious stones. His company was called "Dreams and Visions."

In her words. . .

I learned to design jewelry at my father's knee. My father would let me string, drill and cut coral, turquoise, black jade and make silver beads for necklaces. We were truly a father-daughter team. When I was 18, my father's work was so exquisite and unique he moved to Scottsdale, Arizona to study under world famous European jeweler, Pierre Touraine. He was one of only a few students who graduated from the Gemology Institute of America Diamond Course taught by Mr. Touraine.

I was living in Kansas and would fly to Arizona to work with my dad six months out of each year. Our jewelry was featured in more than 15 distinguished galleries nationwide. A partial list can be seen below. Each year we would travel together displaying our work at shows all over the United States.

We designed a line of Ferrari jewelry and received commissions from the Queen of Denmark, the Princess of Luxembourg, Cartia and more. Our work was featured in a special edition of the "Beyond Traditions" book by Jerry Jacka as well as Southwest Highways, Arizona Highways, Modern Guild - Ancient Arts, The Art of Jewelry and was featured on ABC TV's "Good Morning America."

My father was a featured jeweler at the famous Heard Museum (www.heard.org). I was honored that some of my pieces were also featured at The Heard. The Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, is a private, non-profit museum founded in 1929 by Dwight B. and Maie Bartlett Heard to house their personal collection of cultural and fine art. The mission and philosophy of the Heard today is to educate the public about the heritage and the living cultures and arts of Native peoples, with an emphasis on the peoples of the Southwest.

We worked with precious gems, diamonds, gold, silver and more and often our work was limited to 20-of-a-kind contemporary designed jewelry pieces. We did it all; lapidary work, casting, inlay work, and gold and silversmithing to the finished product.

My father and I worked side by side and knew each other's thoughts with only eye-to-eye contact. We were each other's most severe critic, striving for perfection in each and every piece we designed.

My father passed away in 1990. Boy, do I miss him. He was my best friend and a continual source of encouragement in my life. My life changed without my Dad. I continued to design jewelry for a little while but after his death, it was hard for me to sit in my studio alone.

There were certain smells that I associated with jewelry design. Experiencing these smells reminded me of Dad, so I decided to close my jewelry business.

I married, had two beautiful little girls, only one year apart, and that keeps me very busy. They are now 8 and 9 and full of questions.

It is my desire to continue the work my father and I began many years ago under a variation of his company name, "Celebrate Dreams and Visions." I am again designing, redesigning and crafting some of our original exquisite pieces, plus some of my own, with much more thought and meaning given to each piece. It is with great pride that I do this to celebrate and honor the memory of my famous father, Ted Charveze.

I hope you will enjoy and appreciate my commitment to excellence in jewelry. When you do. . . please tell your friends.

A few of the distinguished galleries where our work has been featured:

Koshari - Scottsdale
Whitehills Indian Arts - Camp Verde
Turquoise Tortoise - Sedona
Indian Jewelry Center - Sacramento
Galleria Capistrano - San Juan Capistrano
Squash Blossom Gallery - Aspen & Vail
White Horse Gallery - Boulder
Village Goldsmith - Estes Park
Tanners Indian Art - Wheat-Ridge
Kansas Fine Arts - Topeka
Stone Flower - Detroit
American Legacy Gallery - Kansas City
Santa Fe East - Santa Fe
Killgore Gallery - Scottsdale