About

How many times have you stood on a spectacular beach, looked around you and thought

Well, you can take it with you. In fact, you can even wear it!

Here’s the deal:

Yup. You're already gorgeous, wonderful, magnificent!

So are the shells I find on the shores of Sanibel and Captiva. Every single treatment, wire wrap and setting is specifically designed to bring out the beauty that is already there.

Pair up your own beauty with a stunning piece of Captibel shell jewelry and slap bang! An unbeatable combination of drop-down, drag-out, tickle-your-toes fabulosity!!

My Story

Hi everyone! My name is Heather Rivera and I'm the artist behind Captibel Designs. Thanks for dropping by!!

As a Jersey girl who transplanted to Dallas, Texas, then Cleveland, Ohio, and now Cape Coral, Florida, I’ve taken my quirky creativity everywhere I’ve been. From obsessively making macramé string bracelets at nine to crocheting massive afghans at twenty to madly wire-wrapping shells and gemstones at (ahem) forty-something…I’ve been creating with my hands for as long as I can remember.

To me, there is something so meditative and therapeutic about taking what seems like a million disjointed pieces and unifying them into a single cohesive piece. I can (and do) sit in the same spot for hours, utterly and blissfully focused on whatever my hands are working on.

I have been making and selling jewelry part time since 2011. My work has been presented in many juried group exhibits in the Ohio/Pennsylvania area including WaterFire Sharon, Screw Factory Open Studio, St. John Westshore Festival of the Arts, Olmsted Festival of the Arts, Cleveland by Hand, Tremont Arts Festival and multiple Avant-Garde Art Shows. I am currently a managing member/owner of the Harbour View Gallery in Cape Coral, Florida.

Why Captibel?

Resting Beach Face 1978

I've always had a thing for water. I think it’s because it’s so majestic, powerful, dazzlingly marvelous and so…well…flowy. My friends think it’s because I’ve got such a dramatic, fiery personality. Perhaps we’re both right.

Living in Cleveland, Ohio for 13 years, I would frequent waterfalls in all kinds of weather…

Heather at Cataract Falls Heather at Quakertown Falls Heather at Brandywine Falls Heather at Columbia Falls

…and Lake Erie whenever possible.

Heather and Skully at Lake Erie Heather at Lake Erie

So when I vacationed in Captiva for the first time in 2012, I nearly lost my ever-loving mind! I was constantly gasping with delight (and squealing, jumping up & down and clapping my hands, but I digress). The natural splendor everywhere I looked absolutely captivated me. (Heh heh heh. Captivated. See what I did there?)

Palm Trees at South Seas Resort

I traveled up and down the island multiple times. Checking the tide chart the night before, I would time my visits to Turner Beach, Blind Pass, Bowmans and Lighthouse Beach so I could be at each of them at absolute low tide and find whatever beach bling the Gulf would offer.

Bowmans Beach Path Gulfside City Park Beach Blind Pass Sandbar Sunset at Lighthouse Beach Fishing Pier

Obsessed much? Perhaps.

But the shells…

Blind Pass Shell Pile Bowmans Beach Shell Pile

The glorious shells!!!

Sunray Venus Clam Coquinas Sunrise Bay Scallop Turkey Wing Shell Wentletraps

I knew I was onto something that would be influential for the rest of my life.

My father, who was almost eighty at the time, was living about 30 miles south of Cleveland. During the winter of 2014 (it was a doozy!), he called me and said, “Heather, I just don’t want to winter anymore!”

My heart soared. I said, “Daddy, I know just the place! Let’s go!!”

We both sold our houses; I left my job as an Accounts Payable Manager (of all things); and we were happily ensconced in Cape Coral, Florida within six months, both of us living the dream.

My dream is to turn my ability to create beautiful, shiny things into a career. Daddy’s dream is to actively and vigorously practice retirement. We’re both doing an excellent job.

I love this place. I feel more at home here than I have ever felt anywhere. Sanibel and Captiva make my soul sing. It is truly joyful, an honor and a privilege, to share my Captibel creations with you.

Catch my blog, Adventures in Captibel, here.

Join my email list for Captibel’s monthly newsletter, promotions and discounts along with some general frolicking fun and fabulosity. PLUS, receive my Ultimate Shell Cleaning Guide absolutely FREE just for signing up!!

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