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I chose to stay at Golden Rock Inn for my spontaneous trip to Nevis in the West Indies last week because they boast incredible gardens. And let me tell you, they did not disappoint. I envisioned myself wandering the gardens photographing my jewelry, especially pieces like the Danse necklace, and my vision came true.
A few weeks ago, I was invited on a spontaneous trip to the Caribbean, and since it just so happened to work perfectly in my schedule, I said yes. Which is how I found myself earlier this week standing on the veranda of my room at the Golden Rock Inn Nevis, remote shutter in hand, wearing this gorgeous dress with my Petale earrings and Fleurir necklace.
Last weekend (ok, technically since it is Monday it was now two weekend’s ago, but who’s counting) I made another trip to visit my bro and his family and couldn’t resist making another stop at Rise Up Coffee. What can I say, I’m a sucker for that black and white branding? (Not to mention the excellent breakfast and those paper straws that hold up to iced latte drinking like none other.)
So of course, I had to commence with my standard silver on steel thumb rings photos! (You can recreate the look by grabbing your own set in my online store!)
On Friday, I went to New York for an artist date with my friend Amber Kane. The plan was to hit up a few museums (which we did) but since it was such a gorgeous day we started it with a walk down the High Line. (Which if you aren’t familiar, is an elevated park built on an old train line.)
It helped that our first stop was the Whitney, which lies at the southern end of the High Line, giving us the perfect excuse to stroll, sip coffee, and take in the art and architecture around the High Line.
This is the time of year where I start noticing an awful lot of people in my Instagram feed are in India. And while it means I spend a lot of time trying to control my jealousy (while trying to figure out when I can sneak in my third trip), it also means I frequently find myself DMing friends to share my favorite India recommendations.
So since it can be repetitive to share my recs one by one (and since I was pretty bad about blogging either of my trips) today I thought I’d share my favorite places to shop and eat in Jaipur! (I’ll be sharing my favorite Delhi shopping destinations in a separate post.)
I’ve been a museum lover as long as I can remember. Growing up, it wasn’t uncommon for us to travel to see a great exhibition. (In college, I agreed to my friend’s suggestion of spring break in Chicago because there was an exhibition of Russian metalwork at the Field Museum that I really wanted to see!) Since I’m always on the lookout for great exhibitions, I thought I’d start a monthly roundup of the ones that caught my eye. I’m hoping to hit up at least a few of these in the next month:
Georgia O’Keeffe is one of my personal heroes, and I’ll definitely be making the trip to Brooklyn to see this exhibition that features images of her and clothes she actually wore(!!) as a way of looking at how she constructed her public modernist identity. Open through July 23, 2017.
Matisse was never an artist I gave much thought to until I saw the mega-exhibition of his work, In Search of True Painting, at the Met. Now I can say I’m a huge fan. (I also made it a point to catch the exhibition of his cut-outs at MOMA a few years later.) This exhibition looks at the influence Matisse had on Diebenkorn by displaying works by both painters together. I sadly missed this when it was in Baltimore a few months ago but I’ll be extending my trip to San Francisco next month just so I have time to check it out. Open through May 29, 2017.
I have a soft spot for immersive installation art (and even tried making some of my own in college) so this exhibition looks incredible. Created by Doug Wheeler, the installation is an abstract interpretation of the feeling of being surrounded by infinite space in the desert. Open (with a timed ticket) through June 30, 2017.
Sadly, this is the one exhibition on my list I won’t get to see. (Since I unfortunately don’t have a trip to England planned anytime soon.) But if I could, I would be there. This exhibition explores how the human form is used in art, fashion, and design. I actually stumbled across this exhibition through an article examining whether or not fashion can be considered art, and (as someone who thinks it can) I love the treatment of fashion as sculpture while also still paying respect to it’s relationship to the human body. Open through June 18, 2017.
This month, I spent two amazing, awe inspiring, eye opening weeks in India. To say it was a great trip would be an understatement.
I went as part of Ritchie Ace Camp’s Block Printing in Jaipur workshop, and while I was there, I also took an obligatory trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and bookended my stay by visiting my sister-in-law, who lives in Dehli.
I have so much to share from the actual trip, but coming down from this kind of adventure has me in a reflective mood, so I want to share a few things that have been kicking around in my brain.
Since these ideas will definitely influence the future of my brand going forward (in ways that I’m sure I can’t possibly fathom right now) it only seems right to share them here, in no particular order.
The way we dress in America is kind of boring. Ok, let’s just get this one out of the way. For the most part, the clothing we wear here is boring. And don’t even get me started on our accessories. (Or lack there of.) Even though I was in Jaipur as part of a textile workshop, I still managed to make time to rekindle my passion for jewelry. Because, let’s face it, India does jewelry really well. What I’m most drawn to are the boldest expressions of Indian jewelry, including stacks of bangles and tribal jewelry from Rajasthan. I’m so inspired by the layering and piling on of jewelry (not to mention the layering and mixing of pattern).
I’m not advocating that we adopt the dress and style of a completely different culture, but I am advocating we embrace something I’m calling “Bold Accessorizing” which basically means piling on lots of big, bold jewelry (plus maybe a scarf or too), because it’s fun! (But also because I think dressing bold can help us be more bold, which is something I’ll come back to later.)
Even adding an extra accessory or two can change the way we feel about ourselves and it’s time to embrace that it’s ok to have fun and be bold and experimental with the way we dress!
The world is big and diverse and we should see as much of it as possible. When I was fourteen, I went with my mom, sister, and a group of other Americans to Russia. It was 1996, just a few years after the end of Communism. It was also my first trip abroad. While there, we studied the traditional arts and craft still being produced in Russia, and even stayed with the families of artisans there. It was an amazing, awe inspiring, life changing trip, and I felt sure that my trip to India was going to be the same. It did not disappoint.
This trip solidified what I had always sort of believed – that travel is one of the most important things we can do if we want to be informed, empathetic, whole human beings. The act of being somewhere wholly different than the places we are familiar with can only serve to expand our thinking and make us better people. If we want people to get along, we should all make an effort to expose ourselves to as many different cultures as possible.
Since I turned 30 a few years ago, I’ve made a commitment to myself to make travel a priority. It’s not something I want to put off for “someday,” rather it’s something I’m making a conscious effort to do now. But I also realize that not everyone has the means to travel as much as I do. (Though it really doesn’t take as much as people think.) So it’s also really important that we expose ourselves to the the best aspects of other cultures through the tools we all have at our disposal – books, magazines, TV and movies, and the amazingness that is the Internet. (I’m looking at you Pinterest.) And that means those of us who do travel should share as much as we can as often as we can.
Amazing things are being made all over the world. So let me start by saying I LOVED shopping in India. It might be my favorite part of the trip. To be fair, I do love shopping anywhere. But shopping in India was a whole other world, filled with amazing objects and things I just couldn’t resist bringing home.
While I was in Jaipur, I also got to see amazing textiles being made first-hand. I watched master artisans carve wood blocks for printing, and more masters stamping and dyeing and creating beautiful things. There are amazing people in Jaipur and Bagru committed to preserving an ancient craft and doing so in as environmentally sustainable way as possible.
Now here’s where this post might get a little contentious, depending on who is reading it. As I watched these people work, I had to question some of the core ideas around the Made in America movement. I couldn’t help but wonder, why should what I make be deemed better just because I happen to be born in one country rather than another? Shouldn’t we be celebrating amazing things made around the world?
I’m not saying there is merit to things made in American, and I’m not saying we shouldn’t do everything we can to keep crafts traditions alive here. (You don’t get a BFA and MFA in crafts without thinking they’re important.) But what I am saying is that cool products are being made everywhere in the world, and if they’re done in a sustainable way that provides living income for the people making them, what’s wrong with supporting that too?
So while I’ll continue to make jewelry in the US (because I’m here, and my production manager is here, and quite frankly, it’s working) I want to bring a more global focus to my brand as well. Because there are amazing people making amazing things all over the world, and I want to experience and celebrate that. One country is not better than another. We all have amazing strengths and things we do well, and when we recognize that, it makes the whole world better.
Plus, I really liked shopping in India, and wouldn’t it be great to have more of an excuse to do that?
Call me old fashioned, but I miss the days when people dressed up to travel by plane. I know flying can be totally draining, but I also want to get off the plane and still look good. (Or as good as possible.) At the same time, I’m a bit of an anxious flyer, so the more comfortable I can be, the better.
Which is why my go to airplane outfit is leggings and a dress. It’s so much more comfortable than wearing jeans, but you’ll always look much more presentable than if you’re wearing sweats.
1/ tie waist dress // 2/ december grey leggings // 3/ remnant skinny infinity scarf // 4/ beats headphones // 5/ frankie magazine // 6/ weekend bag // 7/ toms classics
Even though I was only in San Francisco for a few days, I had to head over to the ocean before heading inland.
Land’s End is part of the Golden Gate National Parks, and a pretty spectacular place. When Joe and I were there a few years ago, we ate at the diner that juts out over the cliff and watched whales swim by.
Even though I didn’t see any whales this time, I couldn’t help but look out into the ocean and picture those whales frolicking in the waves.
Last weekend I flew to San Francisco to participate in SFMOMA jewelry trunk show. This is my third time participating, and it’s always a fun show to do. The mix of designers is great (and small), the museum store staff is so friendly and enthusiastic, and who doesn’t love an excuse to fly to California!
I brought the canvases from my regular display, which made it pretty easy to set up a table display that I was really happy with!
The museum is closing this summer for a major, multi-year renovation, but the museum store will remain open in a different location, which is fantastic, because its such a great shopping destination