Mom loves chocolate truffles & Liz loves mints! A very close relationship between Mother and Daughter were the bonds that gave life to TruffleMint, a shop for handcrafted "eclectic everyday jewelry for everyone".

TruffleMint was opened in Spring 2013 with the idea of handcrafting designer quality and affordable jewelry without sacrificing quality. This December TruffleMint showed signs the shop resonates to the public, especially her fruit pendant necklaces.

A middle child, Liz is very close to her mother. Maria encouraged her daughter to open up GemCandyStudio. It was not successful. A 2nd shop was launched in 2012, Ethereal Energy Shop, offering a collection of "energy gemstone jewelry". It did better. She became a juried member of The Artisan Group and participated in the GBK OSCARS 2013 Gift Lounge; 2014 Press & Media Gifting at the GBK Golden Globes Gift Lounge. In addition to Hollywood Events, Liz has submitted her handcrafted jewelry for consideration for television shows like NBC's "The Voice" and ABC's "The Bachelorette" 2014 Season. Liz's Carnelian Vintage Bronze Leaf Earrings were worn by actress Nina Dobrev in The Vampire Diaries, Episode 506 of the CW TV hit show. This beautiful dangling earrings is in demand among European fans of Nina Dobrev.
Interesting write-ups were published in the Putnam County Sentinel in Ohio, her Dad's hometown and mentions in several news media, travel magazine including Yahoo.

Liz has loved gemstones since she was a little girl. She says gemstones look like mouthwatering candies! Her earliest memory of jewelry making was around age six when she handcrafted a lovely ring made of copper wire she found in her Dad's tool box. Growing up, she refashioned costume jewelries she was gifted..jewelries from Woodward & Lothrop and even from Saks or Neiman Marcus..it did not matter if it was expensive, she disassembled and assembled her jewelries into pieces she thought were more stylish and interesting. Her maternal grandmother was her inspiration and Maureen Ward, the CEO of the Make Piece/Peace organization was her mentor. Liz has degree in Psychology and is a GIA alumna.

Maria Cabrales Stechschulte, mother and partner is also a designer in her own right, specializing in hand knits and handcrochet with 35 years experience. Her collection was carried by various boutiques, department stores and wearable art gallery in DC-MD-VA. Her fabulous sweaters were sold in Soho, NY, Wisconsin, Carmel, CA, and Boston. She owns MarKateLiz Designs on Etsy.

Both mother and daughter find themselves in agreement in the products offered in TruffleMints. With her fine art knowledge and studies at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) Liz who is the designer does not hesitate to have Maria critique her work. For the most part, Maria is into the management, social media, photography. financial person, and also a designer/maker at times. They have a small studio in Washington, DC, Chevy Chase area.