Internet answers demand for same sex jewelry

Same sex couples looking for jewelry that reflects theirlifestyle need look no farther than the Internet.

At loveandpride.comThe artist behind the site, Udi Behr, developed it after heencountered resistance from retailers unwilling to sell his newline of jewelry, Love and Pride, which was crafted with that themein mind.

They didn’t want any jewelry that specifically supported gayrights, Behr said.

Behr could have given up back in 2005, but he didn’t. Rather, hesaid, When I got such resistance to carrying Love and PrideBehr brings a wealth of experience to his endeavor. Before takinghis concept to the Internet, the Italian-born jewelrydesigner-whose creations run the gamut from costume to high endjewelry — had sold his work in shops ranging from the now defunctBrooklyn department store Abraham & Straus to Saks FifthAvenue.

The venture appears to have paid off. Now in its sixth year,loveandpride.com – which urges buyers to look good, do good –has established itself as a source for activist jewelry, so much sothat Behr has been able to donate $300,000 to gay rightsorganizations like the Matthew Shepard Foundation and Lambda LegalNot every piece is activist [jewelry] but the spirit is activist,he explained. Every piece and every part of our growth will bereflected in how much we give.

But even though he is engaged in an ongoing fight for a cause he isdeeply invested in, Behr still finds time to embrace his devilishside, designing jewelry for HBO’s vampire epic True Blood.

Behr even sells his own authorized line of True Blood adornments,on loveandpride.com — the only collection of its kind. He wasoffered the job after doing consulting and design work for Showtimeprograms The L Word, Queer as Folk and Dexter, althoughnothing prepared him for a job offer from one of his favorite showson television.

How can anyone say no to ‘True Blood?’ he asked. We all want tobe vampires. It’s way more fun than being human.

But Behr is still deathly serious when it comes to the causes hebelieves in. Although he was elated at New York’s recent decisionto legalize gay marriage, he says he will fight on until there is afederal law allowing homosexual couples to marry.

When that issue is gone, we’ll have other issues to deal with, hesaid. We have a lot of work to do still, but we’re on ourway.

For further information or to view Behr’s designs, go online towww.loveandpride.com. Customer service can be reachedat1-888-808-LOVE (5683) during business hours.