Lucky Charms

Texas designer's build-your-own jewelry bar is charming and charitable

For a lot of people, charms have always felt lucky. Elaine Turner believes a charm necklace can allow a woman to showcase her roots, be empowered, and inspire others.

So the Houston-based accessory designer has introduced the Southern Charm Bar in her nine retail stores. Customers can choose from a wide array of jewels, ranging from smoky topaz to amethyst; traditional and funky charms, including an outline of the state of Texas, a Swarovski crystal evil eye, or angel wing; and gold-plated mantra bars offering affirmations like "Believe," "Empower," "Inspire," and "Let Go."

Customers can choose from two dainty gold chains — 18 inches or 22 inches at $24-$28 each — and mix in briolette stones ($28 each), charms ($28-$42), and mantra bars ($32) to customize their necklace.

Each bracelet or necklace can be as individual as the wearer, and Turner donates 15 percent of all Southern Charm Bar proceeds to two charitable foundations each year. The first beneficiary is Houston-based Autism Rescue Angels, a charity Turner helped found with inspiration from her special needs daughter.

“There is a harsh financial reality of raising a special needs child. My goal is to provide assistance and relief for families who need it most,” Turner says. “Not only will proceeds from Southern Charm Bar benefit autism awareness and other worthy causes, but each time a customer wears her necklace, she will be reminded of these extraordinary foundations.”

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Elaine Turner created the Southern Charm Bar to give her customers an opportunity to be creative and feel empowered.

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It's Showtime

Original Beetlejuice costumes crawl to San Antonio in time for sequel

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice film still with Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice, Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz

Film still courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Beetlejuice was always instantly recognizable thanks to its unique costuming.

If you say his name three times in a row, a striped suit appears...or something. In celebration of the new Beetlejuice movie, titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, a costume pop-up in San Antonio is putting some of the memorable looks on display from August 28 to September 15.

These costumes are some of the most iconic parts of the 1988 film, from Beetlejuice's stripes, to Lydia's red wedding dress, to Lydia's mom's single-gloved black ensemble. Some original pieces (including two of those three) will be on display at Santikos Casa Blanca, in a free exhibit that will surely inspire some Halloween trends this year after the film's September 6 release.

Directed by Tim Burton, the 2024 film follows a different plot years after the original, with returning cast members including Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice, Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz, and Catherine O’Hara as her mother, Delia Deetz. The hottest name in campy, creepy film, Jenna Ortega, is also joining for the first time as Lydia's daughter, Astrid, an unexpected twist for people like Ryder who expected that Lydia was not exactly the maternal type.

Beetlejuice costumes at Santikos Casa Blanca A new release shared an image of the display.Image courtesy of Santikos Entertainment

These costumes are the work of designer Colleen Atwood, who is responsible for some of the most distinctive costuming in movies, often with a fantasy or horror element. Atwood worked on Hannibal Lecter's famous mask in Silence of the Lambs; many fantastical, extravagant looks in Alice in Wonderland; and the surprisingly whimsical, yet dark garb of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

In the ouroboros of Tim Burton movies, there is always much cross-collaboration, so it makes sense that Atwood has worked alongside Ortega in another spooky reboot before. She served as a designer for Wednesday, the Burton-Netflix series that launched Ortega into fame for her portrayal of Wednesday Addams.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice cast The new film adds a generation to the Deetz dynamic.Film still courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Visitors to the display are invited to take pictures with the famous looks, and they can generate their own images as fabulously dressed dead people at welcometoafterlife.com. Santikos Casa Blanca is located at 11210 Alamo Ranch Pkwy.

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