Jewelry as Armor

Jewelry is an extremely meaningful, and extremely personal art form. The medium may be metal and rock but the canvas is the wearer. We choose jewelry for ourselves which expresses the way we feel or WANT to feel. This expression is different for everyone- based on our personal style and our mood that day. Quirky? Loved? Bad-Ass? Tough? Independent? Capable? Fierce? Modern? Magical? Traditional?

How am I feeling and how do I want to express that?

My most liked post on Instagram this month is of an Antique Victorian Sword Pendant, and it got me thinking about how my personal taste has become bolder, edgier and more like a protective talisman against the outside world. I am finding myself attracted to shields, daggers, to black enamel and black diamonds and to bold structural shapes. I did some googling and came across this snippet from a NYT article by Andrew Testa from 2017:

“During a period when many think advancements in equal rights and civil rights are under threat, designers and experts say it is not surprising that women are turning to jewelry for a sense of safety and for self-expression. “Women are reacting to the current sense of threat in practical ways, whether it be in protest at the Women’s March, or in using design and crafts as a way of expressing it,” said Rebecca Arnold, a fashion historian with the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. “

Interestingly, I’ve also become more sentimental lately (maybe since becoming a mom?) and am drawn to love tokens, items of devotion or lockets which memorialize a distant or lost loved one.

I believe in the power of adornment and in the personal power we imbue on our jewelry to become like a second skin. Do you notice how when you forget to put on a piece of jewelry that you normally wear every day (maybe a watch or a wedding band) you feel half-dressed, as though you’ve walked outside without your pants. You’re missing something. I believe this is because from the moment we select a piece of jewelry and put it on our bodies, we are assigning a meaning and significance to the piece and it becomes a personal talisman. I create and curate jewelry that speaks to me in this very personal voice, my own voice. I invite you into the conversation, and I love working with customers one on one to create something that speaks to you in your voice.

xo

Maura