Nagi Jewelers Spices up September

' “Spicy Treats and Treasures” celebration offered much more than a peak at some of their newest collections of jewelry — assembled were a group of remarkable women from around Fairfield and Westchester Counties offering simple indulgences and new experiences for all. At the center of it all, were members of the Osta family — owners of Nagi Jewelers —particularly Liz Osta.

“She’s the brilliance behind it all — and she has exquisite taste,” Helen Koven told Patch.

“They are both very strong supporters of the community…they have a huge fan club and I’m happy to be a member,” Stamford’s first lady Maureen Pavia said.

Liz Osta showed one of the newest additions to the collection of unique and beautiful jewelry — a collection that had just come in that very day, made by a woman-owned company in Texas. As guests moved about the room, many accumulated small bags for their newest purchases, others showed off their favorite pieces from past visits to Nagi Jewelers.

“We thought this would be good for the week of back to school — give women a chance to get away, eat, drink, and change it up a little bit,” Liz Osta said. “We tried to find things that were a little unusual, something they wouldn’t do themselves.”

In this category, women could learn belly dancing in the upper level of the store or get a well-earned massage. Cori Burke worked on Henna tattoos downstairs, and shamanic healer Eve Kerwin met with women one-on-one.

“I call myself a medicine woman because it sums it up quickly,” Kerwin said. “It's a gift, a sixth sense...I feel very blessed to be doing what I’m doing. I just hold someone’s hand for a moment and I can get a reading, it's like I just know.”

While Kerwin has used her sixth sense to help doctors who have come to a dead-end diagnosing a patient and with the FBI investigating missing child or murder cases, at Nagi Jewelers, Kerwin was simply focused on helping women to understand what may be troubling them in their lives.

“She’s a doctor of the soul,” Eve Kerwin’s daughter Marla Kerwin said.

Marla Kerwin shares her mothers’ intuitive gift and is able to channel it into her work with special needs children.

Mary Beth Pellegrino and Remy DeVere, representing NARS at , showed some of the new fall make-up trends and provided free application for women in attendance.

Luxurious evening wear by designer Susan Miranda of Pound Ridge, New York was displayed on racks around the space. Miranda’s designs have appeared on the red carpet and on some of the world’s top jazz musicians.

provided some of the refreshments for the evening, but Lauren Osta, daughter of Liz and Nagi Osta, also worked in the kitchen downstairs preparing traditional Middle Eastern dishes for guests and bringing up fresh platters like clockwork throughout the night. Trays in the center of the store overflowed with stuffed grape leaves, pita, hummus, and fresh fruit.

A silent auction atop the jewelry cases benefited Fanny Fandango, a local charity that helps older women in need. Donna Carter of Fanny Fandango is the creator of “Fanny's Granny's Eco-Bag Bracelets” — an idea that has helped her to raise over $1,300 so far this year, with 90%  going to help older women living in poverty.

“A lot of people get newspapers delivered and they come in these plastic bags,” Carter explained. “A few years ago I was sitting and thinking, I think it was raining because that’s when they double-bag them, and I thought “What can I do with these bags so they don’t end up in the ocean and in the trash?””

After playing around with the plastic, Carter was able to repurpose the plastic bags into beautiful and intricate woven bracelets and used her funds to help older women living in poverty.

That question, “What can I do?” seemed at the heart of the evening, what can I do to build connections, to inspire, to help others, and to give women a night out they won’t soon forget.