The Wink

I want to tell you a story about following breadcrumbs. But it’s a long story. I won’t be able to fit it all into one newsletter. It’s a story about seemingly disparate pieces that come together to form a whole. About ideas that find their expression in unexpected places.

For a little over a month now, I’ve been sort of secretly working on a special collection. I haven’t talked about it at all here or on social media—partly because I’m still sorting it out—but mostly because it is very near and dear to my heart. Recently I heard someone compare the feeling of a new art project to the feeling of having a crush. It’s tender and vulnerable. Exciting and preoccupying. Exhilerating and butterfly spawning. I go to bed thinking about it and wake up thinking about it. I do yoga thinking about it and cook dinner thinking about it.

It’s been a while since I’ve felt this way about a collection. In all of my work, I aim to craft pieces which are elegant, but have a certain kind of whimsy to them. Something a bit unexpected, or quirky. Maybe even a little bit weird. I think of this extra something as a “wink.”

Sometimes the “wink” shows up literally, as in the case of my quartz eye intaglio pieces…

…or my mother of pearl crying eyes paired with garnet bleeding hearts.

Sometimes the “wink” is more subtle: like the unexpected color combination and asymmetry of these Smoky Bay earrings...

…or a playful kinetic element, like these Hexagon Convertible Ear Jackets and studs.

The collection I’ve got cooking right now is a bit heavier on the “wink” factor. And it ties together so many of the things I’ve been thinking about lately. The creation of it is a story of following those breadcrumbs I mentioned before—little universe winks that led me on my way. But that, my friends, is a story for next week, once I’ve worked out some more of the details. I can’t wait to share it with you. I hope you will be as excited about it as I am.

With love and care,

Susan