In a town as small as Honolulu, can there be room for two Salty Girls?

Apparently, yes.

I met Salty Girl Jewelry’s Amber Chesebro at a party recently and mentioned that I’d just seen her business name on an event listing.

But she said, "No, I haven’t heard of it."

I said I’d go back and check. Turns out Salty Girl is also the name of the women’s line for a company called Salty Wear.

With confusion bound to ensue as their businesses grow, here’s what they’re about.

Salty Girl Jewelry

Amber Chesebro’s place in life was never in question. As soon as she was old enough to finish school and land a job, in 2008, she headed to Hawaii with a one-way ticket, not knowing a soul here.

Tall, blond and easygoing, she grew up in Maine and Rhode Island, but even at home "people always asked, ‘You’re new here, right?’ They assumed I was from Hawaii or California," she said.

"The weather there didn’t match my vibe. I’m a total beach bum. I’ve always been that way. I saved money all my life so I could take trips to get away from winter."

She had the name "Salty Girl" in mind ever since she started designing jewelry at the Rhode Island School of Design.

"I had a very clear vision of the vibe I wanted my line to have. All the other girls in school were working in geometrics. Mine was so distinctly different from theirs. It was all ocean-inspired. When I told people I was moving to Hawaii, they all said, ‘I’m so happy for you.’ It was never a question I belong here. The first day here I felt like I was finally home."

Chesebro wasn’t a stranger to the ocean. She grew up in a fishing village on the Atlantic, "so I spent so much time at the beach looking at stuff, picking up shells. I was so fascinated by things in the water. To me a sea urchin is beautiful, seaweed is beautiful. I was totally blown away by colors and patterns of things I saw."

Her ocean aesthetic and technical expertise make for a magical combination. Chesebro’s handmade pieces range from the dramatic, spiky necklaces and earrings in her Urchin line, to forged sterling-silver Scale earrings that ripple like a fish in movement, to delicate Sea Star earrings and glass Bubble necklaces made with Pyrex glass loops hand-blown by Kailua artist Jessica Landau. Art Jewelry pieces range from porcelain sea slug earrings to beachcomber’s bracelets of treasured finds. Prices start at $27 for a Surfer Girl necklace of leather cord with a sea glass toggle.

Chesebro’s introduction to jewelry came when she was a child.

"My mom, in the ’70s, used to make macrame jewelry and watchbands. She always had these amazing boxes full of beautiful beads. I had her teach me everything she could, so I started making bracelets for all my friends. It all started with macrame when I was 7 or 8."

Before entering design school, Chesebro assumed she would be a potter after exploring the arts from printmaking to glasswork to painting. But she was drawn by the small-scale challenge of jewelry making.

Now that she’s in the right place, she said retailers have welcomed her studio line, and their customers have been happy to find handmade, artisan jewelry at a relatively low price.

"The best compliments I’ve received are when people tell me my pieces are really unique and they’ve never seen anything like it."

Because so many people leave the state in search of opportunities, Chesebro said she’s constantly asked if she feels her business is hindered by limited resources, higher costs and other obstacles that come from setting up shop on an island.

"I’m actually finding that it’s quite easy, and in my case it’s happening very organically," she said. "There seems to be a movement in Hawaii toward keeping things local, which is creating a really nice vibe. Too many talented people move away from Hawaii to seek out what they perceive to be better opportunities, but I think anyone can be just as successful here if this is where they choose to be.

"Because we are on an island where the community is tighter and word travels fast, if there is someone doing something different and they have a great product, it will catch on, people will talk about it.

"I feel really lucky that I’m able to do something that I’m totally passionate about," she said. "To me Hawaii is still so new that I don’t think I’ll exhaust my inspiration here. I already have a sketchbook full of designs that would take me a lifetime to complete."

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Salty Girl Jewelry can be found at Sand People at Ala Moana Center, Waikiki and Kailua; the Hawaii State Art Museum gift shop; and Nohea Gallery at Ward Warehouse. Visit SaltyGirlJewelry.com.

Salty Wear

Salty Wear has been a work in progress since creators Ramon and Lianne Vrielink were living in California a decade ago. As avid swimmers, their initial concept was to develop an activewear line, including tees and paddling shirts, that expressed their love of the ocean and outdoor lifestyle.

At that time, "I found myself caught in the rat race, working long hours as an architectural designer, sitting in a chair working on a computer 10- to 12-plus-hour days," said Ramon said via email from Toronto, where the two are visiting.

After six years of the same, he said they realized there was no balance in their lifestyle, and that wasn’t the way either of them wanted to live.

"We were living to work, rather than working to live," he said.

They ended up selling their condo with no set plan to explore other options.

Oahu had been a second home to Lianne since she was a girl, visiting often during family vacations and dropping in on her oldest sister, who lived in Kahala.

With that thought, Ramon said, "We soon found ourselves with two suitcases, a surfboard and my computer flying to Hawaii looking to find that balance between work and play and embracing the culture and values that are instilled on the islands."

Lianne is a former synchronized swimmer and coach for the U.S. national team, and Ramon was a national-level swimmer for Canada, so naturally, the pair gravitated to the ocean and discovered a passion for outrigger canoe paddling. They also found work as head swim coaches at La Pietra-Hawaii School for Girls, and started assisting coaches at Hui Nalu Canoe Club.

Ramon didn’t let his architecture and design skills go to waste, either, turning his creative energy into graphic and logo wear for canoe clubs and surf startup companies.

These days, Salty Wear apparel has become the canvas for Ramon’s photography and graphic design, reflecting the couple’s time in California and Hawaii and their experiences in "taking risks and challenges and living a healthy and balanced lifestyle."

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Salty Wear is online at www.saltywear.com.