ABOUT US
My name is Cheri (Raspante) Phillips and I have been designing jewelry since 1999. One day I walked into Global Beads in Mountain View, CA, became enthralled with variety of colors, shapes, textures and materials at my fingertips and never really left. I've taken classes with Kathleen Susinetti (the owner), Paula Walter and Kate Ferrant Richbourg. I design and create jewelry using beads, Precious Metal Clay and most recently have begun metalworking. I often incorporate the work of other artists in my designs, but my ultimate desire is to create the pendants, clasps and some of the beads myself.
My husband, Greg Phillips, is my soul mate and the love of my life. His artistic critiquing is always valuable and he's been wonderfully tolerant of the growing mountain of beads, tools and whatnot that have invaded our home. His real passion is his business, Dreams to Reality. He helps people work through their issues and obstacles to find the happiness they seek and deserve in their lives. He also provides coaching to those wishing to learn how to trade stock options.
Our children, Justin - 25 and Deanna - 22, complete and provide additional joy in my life. On July 13, 2007, Deanna Phillips married Philip Cauley in a civil ceremony in San Jose, CA. We drove to Saratoga to Hakone Gardens for pictures and then had dinner at Bella Mia restaurant in San Jose.
The family zoo includes: Snoopins (Beagle), Max (70lb Basset Hound), Lucky (Flame tipped/white Siamese-ish cat), Bandit (14lb. Maine Coon mix cat), Foxy (long haired Calico mix cat), and Rainbow (Torty/white Persian cat). See our pets here.
On most Sunday mornings, Greg and I take the dogs for a 4 mile roundtrip walk to our favorite breakfast spot. We live slightly up into the foothills of Mt. Hamilton in the Diablo Mountain range east of San Jose, CA.
My life has been blessed with the opportunity to travel to a variety of places. In 2003, Deanna and I went on a horse drive organized by Frontier Pack Train. Click on the picture below to view the history of our adventure!
At the end of January, 2005, Greg and I visited the 4000 acre Aņo Nuevo State Reserve on the coast of California. We went on a 3-hr. docent-led tour of the northern elephant seal breeding area - the largest mainland elephant seal breeding area in the world. The reserve is located 55 miles south of San Francisco. The breeding season is December to March and viewing is by reservation only. See some of our pictures here.
We recently celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary by driving w/ the dogs up to Esplanade Beach (dog-friendly), where we spent a wonderful morning playing w/ the dogs and enjoying the sound and smell of the ocean!
One of my passions is the ocean and all the creatures in it. Six years ago, that lead us to the saltwater aquarium hobby and our first saltwater tank. I attended my first Marine Aquarium Conference of North America (MACNA) in Ft. Worth, TX in 2002. Subsequently, I became the Secretary and Membership Director of Marine Aquarium Societies of North America (MASNA) in September 2003 at the Louisville, KY MACNA conference. I was elected President of MASNA the following September and am serving my 4th term as President now.
Through my relationship with MASNA and their scholarship fund, I was lucky enough to be invited to the 3rd Annual Drs. Foster & Smith Coral Conference and Frag Swap 6/29-7/1/07. Among the many highlights of that trip to the Drs. Foster and Smith facility in Rhinelander, WI, was a personal tour of their aquaculture facility, given by Kevin Cohen, the head of their LiveAquaria division, and also a tour of the whole DFS warehouse!