Dragonflies, Bees and Butterflies

Though spring in San Francisco currently seems to be colder than our winter, my eye is still being caught by the ever-popular insect motif in jewelry. As I was walking up Sutter Street the other day, this little Victorian beauty buzzed my name from the front window of Lang Antique & Estate Jewelry.

victorian diamond, tiger's eye, opal and ruby bee pin from lang antique jewelry
While so beautiful, this intricate piece is certainly an investment for most people. It got me thinking about how this pin would be on the catwalk at Fashion Week. But how to translate this to the street? Or as often dubbed, “Runway to Realway.” I took a look around and compiled a collection of ideas. Here they are, in no particular order.

Alexis Bittar Iridescent Bumble Bee Studs

alexis bittar iridescent bumble bee stud earrings
Siena Jewelry Silver Diamond Bee Pendant Necklace

siena jewelry silver diamond bee pendant necklace
Efva Attling Miss Butterfly Headband

efva attling miss butterfly headband
Because even a baby can rock a butterfly, James Banks Butterfly Baby Ring

james banks butterfly gold and silver tiny baby ring

Slane Bee Charm Bracelet

slane bee charm bracelet with bee charm
Jacquie Aiche Butterfly Stud

jacquie aiche butterfly stud
Anna Ruth Henriques Moonstone Dragonfly Pendant

anna ruth henriques dragonfly moonstone pendant
Slane Grace Black Onyx Bee Intaglio Ring

slane grace black onyx an dsterling silver ring with bee intaglio
Efva Attling Miss Butterfly Heaven Collier

efva attling miss butterfly heaven collier
And if you’re looking for a little something special for the graduate in your life, Dogeared Graduation Butterfly Necklace. (which also comes in silver)

dogeared graduation butterfly necklace
Tomorrow, as I head out for the day, I’m going to see how many of these winged creatures I see, both in reality and in the form of jewelry. I hope you have a lovely spring day!

Field Trip to San Francisco

What?! Don’t you live/work in SF? Well, yes…I do.  I am a Bay Area native. I work in San Francisco many days a week, and I lived in Pacific Heights for a few years as well. (I currently live 15 miles south of the city.) But don’t you find that when you live somewhere, you often don’t take the time to visit all the cool, local places as opposed to when you’re visiting somewhere new? Heck, I know SF born and bred people who have never been to Alcatraz or walked the Golden Gate Bridge, but I know all my friends who’ve visited from abroad have done these things!

This was the impetus for Friday’s field trip, with my fabulous co-hort, Jennifer Bressie. There were a few jewelry stores in areas of SF we don’t often frequent which have been on our “must see” list. So we both cleared our schedule for the day to check them out. Jen was the driver, and I was the the direction girl…(Jen probably should have been worried when I had my directions scrawled on a piece of paper, instead of using Google maps on my phone!)

 

Off on our adventure!
Off on our adventure!

Our first stop was going to be D & H Sustainable Jewelers in the Castro. Now I know that directions aren’t my strong suit, but the streets in the area where Noe and Market (and others?) meet are so catywompus, that we found ourselves stuck behind this trolley, at a dead stop. (Please note the “Dead End” sign to the right. It’s true, signs don’t lie.) Oops! Let’s do a “creative” U-turn. Perfect. Did I mention I’m not the best navigator?!

the castro, sf
But it was all worth it, and Jen’s superb driving skills got us to our destination. In a matter of about 10 minutes, I knew that I wanted Shawn Higgins, half of the duo behind D & H Sustainable Jewelers, as a new best friend. His humor, expertise, and openness are infectious.

shawn higgins and amy roseveare
This store is among the first that will be SCS certified, meaning that 100% of their products are ethically sourced and sustainable. What a fabulous feat! They sell their own designs, as well as representing many other jewelry designers. It’s clear that bridal is a huge category for them. Being the magpie that I am, I went straight for the bling-iest ring in the case, featuring a flawless yellow canary diamond. (This is one of their own designs.)

yellow canary diamond ring from d & h sustainable jewelers
Another one of their amazing pieces is this cage pendant, which took over a year to make, to get it just right. It’s made of sterling silver and 14K gold, and housed an incredible Alexander the Great coin, dating back 2500 years. Adore.

d & h sustainable jewelers pendant
You can open it up, and really put whatever sort of talisman you’d like inside.

d & h sustainable jewelers pedant
I also thought this necklace, made from a re-purposed 1910 Edwardian lingerie pin was quite fantastic.

d & h sustainable jewelers lingerie pin necklace
If you’re looking for a supremely unique wedding ring for your guy, then check out this Gibeon meteorite set in rose gold by Lashbrooke!

lashbrooke meteorite ring ad d&h sustainable jewelers
After briefly meeting Lindsay (the other partner), we had to run. Lunch was most definitely next on the agenda, and you can’t go wrong with the croque monsieur (for me) or the burger sans bun (for Jen–she’s so good!) at Absinthe in Hayes Valley.

With our appetites sufficiently satisfied, were were off to Metier. You may be familiar with this store. They spent 5 years on Maiden Lane (Union Square), 16 years on Sutter (where they were a large clothing and jewelry boutique), and then a year in the Shreve building, before moving to this new location on Laguna. This jewel-box of a boutique offers both vintage/antique jewelry as well as merchandise from current designers. The more carefully you look, the more you see. The owners, Sheri Evans and Trina Papini, have an impeccable eye, so the collection is curated to perfection. During our visit, the place was hopping with customers!

metier san francisco
I couldn’t resist trying on these Georgian rings, which are from the late 1700’s-early 1800’s. Amazeballs.

georgian diamond rings from metier sf
Or what about one of these silver bracelets, from Victorian to Arts & Crafts? So easy to mix with current outfits!

antique bracelets from metier sf
They always have a fabulous selection of lockets and charms.

locket from metier sf
lockets from metier sf
One of the current designers they carry is Arielle de Pinto, who weaves magic with metal. The ombre finish on this necklace is just perfect.

arielle de pinto necklace
Loved seeing Sheri and Trina, and I’ll certainly be back soon.

trina papini, amy roseveare and sheri evans
Our last stop of the day was in the Mission. Love & Luxe is an amazing jewelry gallery and atelier owned by artist-in-residence, Betsy Barron. She shows her own work and also showcases 40+ other hand-crafted lines in her spacious store. As luck would have it, she came to the store during our visit. Yay!

amy roseveare and betsy barron
First checking out Betsy’s line, I couldn’t help but try on a few rings.

betsy barron rings
Jen was in love with this rose gold locket from 1870. She is a total rose gold girl!

vintage rose gold locket from love & luxe
I definitely have always had a thing for turquoise, and this vintage-inspired design with Sleeping Beauty turquoise by Chris Neff made me smile.

chris neff ring at love & luxe
Definitely one of the most unique lines I’ve ever seen is James Banks, which is a collaboration between Adam Schulman and Heidi Nahser-Fink. Here is their necklace called “Lightkeeper.” On one necklace, there is a glass bulb filled with black diamonds and one ruby. Then on the other necklace are the “tools” you can use to open the bulb to add/change whatever you want inside. Have you ever seen something like this?!

lightkeeper by james banks at love & luxe
Even the box it comes in is exquisite.

lightkeeper necklace by james banks at love & luxe
There was also a lovely selection of work by Johnny Ninos. His current collection is inspired by barnacles, as shown in these rings. Organic beauty, no doubt.

johnny ninos rings at love & luxe
johnny ninos reef ring at love & luxe
Jen had to take one more look at that locket before we had to leave and get back on the road…

love & luxe san francisco
I can’t think of a better way to spend the day–with a life-long friend (We actually went to kindergarten together!) looking at gorgeous jewelry! Thanks to all of you for your time, knowledge and kindness!