Push, Karen Karch's Tiny Little Italy Jewelbox

Push 240 Mulberry St. (betw. Prince & Spring Sts.), 965-9699 www.pushjewelry.com Push is the tiny Little Italy boutique at which you'll find the engaging jewelry designs of Karen Karch. Some of Karch's pieces remind you of Native American art and jewelry; others have a medieval, King's Quest kind of feel to them; still others evoke the American West. Karch's pieces look as if they might have been ripped from the earth?excavated, like ancient relics?or perhaps naturally hewn by the elements. Yet they're exquisitely crafted.

Her handiwork?rings, necklaces, bracelets?exuberantly embraces the range of metals and of precious and semiprecious gemstones, not to mention other materials?which is a little unusual in a craft industry in which designers tend to find their own relatively narrow groove and ride it. We spotted diamonds, rubies and amethysts when we visited the store recently; platinum, gold, silver and rose gold; turquoise, onyx, coral; even leather. Several regal, crown-like rings incorporated two, three or more varieties of gemstone. Apparently, many customers have purchased the platinum and diamond rings for use as engagement rings. Wedding bands are available as well.

No less intriguing than the pieces themselves is the way they're presented in the quirky display cases, which are the work of Karch's husband. A vintage radio, for instance, gets transmogrified: gutted, its front console ripped off, so's to create a minute dioramic showcase for glittering prodigies of jewelry. An old organ houses a working, bubbling aquarium in its bottom portion; when you're done enthusing over it, your eyes travel upward toward a shelf, on which you'll find more of Karch's collection. In another showcase, the pieces casually inhabit a dollhouse-sized, furnished room. There's a light- and sand-filled terrarium at the bottom of another display case. We almost expected to see a snake whip through it?and there may have been one in the corner, for all we know.

Push's website is still in development, but a few examples of Karch's work may be seen now on the opening page. Until then, stop by Push in person; the designer herself is often on the premises.