Such a Charmer

Spinning tales of a recent visit to Kuala Lumpur, Adriana Unarreal sounds every bit the urban jet-setter. Then there's a homebody underneath: "I've always wanted to get back to my roots," the 36-year-old jewelry designer says. Those roots are planted in her native Caracas, Venezuela, where she sold handbags before moving to New York in 2001. After styling window displays for Henri Bendel there, Unarreal relocated to Boston two years ago to work at Beacon Hill gift shop Good. Surrounded all day by the boutique's antique jewelry, Unarreal was inspired to pay tribute to her own ancestry. She enrolled in night classes at MassArt, began crafting pieces in her Jamaica Plain kitchen, and last year launched her eponymous line.

Latin American materials and rituals inform Unarreal's creations; her substantial wood cuffs ($75–$90) and necklaces strewn with heirloom charms collected in Venezuela by her mother ($100–$300) are bestsellers at Looc in the South End. Her wares also employ eco-friendly elements, such as vegetable ivory and azabache, a chalklike black mineral.

Having just wrapped her latest earth-conscious collection, Unarreal says she may expand into handbags and other accessories. Then that jet-setting streak resurfaces, objecting to any rigid strategy. "I don't plan my life so precisely," she says. "I met my husband, moved to the U.S., and got married in less than a year. So I definitely like surprises."

Adriana Unarreal jewelry is available at Looc, 12 Union Park St., Boston, 617-357-5333.