Vanessa spends a month out of every year in Brazil creating new work. She works in a remote mountain nature reserve, fabricating new pieces which she then sends to a casting company. There, molds are made, and multiple pieces are cast. These pieces are then worked on by Vanessa and her assistants in her Oakland, California studio.  Bezels are added to the pieces, some are enameled, they are polished, stones are set, and only then are they ready to be embellished with stones beads, pearls, coral and other materials. All ear wires with stones set in them and most clasps are also made in Vanessa's Oakland studio.