The Sunday Times: Issue #26

As a former elementary art teacher, this time of year is special. It marks the end of a season of little structure and long days, and marks the start of a more ritualized, constant time of year that brings me a lot of comfort. Despite my love for the ocean and the beach, I've never been a summer girl. I do not love having wide-open schedules as my ADHD makes that feel overwhelming. I like having a structure and schedule to work within. They say constraint brings out creativity and that rings very true for me. I miss the autumnal breeze, the reliable school bell, and having to be in my classroom by a certain time in the morning to welcome in my students.

I am trying to find a bit of "back-to-school" mentality in my own studio to keep me on track for this upcoming quarter. I focused on travel in July and wholesale orders in August, but September and October will be all about Paradiso Pt. II so I can have it ready to offer to you before the holiday rush. Will I try and be in my studio by a certain time every morning? Probably not. But I will have a tray of stones staring at me everyday to make sure I give them the attention they deserve.

In this issue I'll show you the two rings that I've already carved and will be sending off for casting for Paradiso. I'll also show you the fish I saw in our little local cove while snorkeling and the upcoming pendants they inspired. Lastly, I'll highlight some available rings in case you're in the market for something ready-to-ship.

So pour yourself a cup of tea and get comfy.

"The heat of autumn is different from the heat of summer. One ripens apples, the other turns them to cider."

- Jane Hirshfield

WHAT'S ON MY BENCH

BERYL AND TOURMALINE

It feels so good to be carving wax again! For anyone that doesn't know - fulfilling my wholesale orders of Pearl Vessels and Fontanellas involves a lot of "fabrication." That means cutting, hammering, and soldering together metal wire and sheet to form shapes. Wax carving involves a different process called "casting" in which a mold is made from a wax model, and molten metal is poured into that mold to make a metal version of that wax. When I make rings for collections these days, I'm almost always carving wax. That way I can create more sculptural shapes for the unique stones that I source. I like both processes as each involves a different creative outlet for my brain (I do love getting my rage out by hammering metal!), but wax carving allows me to get into a true flow state where I stare down my microscope and hours just melt away.

Above is the second ring I've finished carving for Paradiso Pt. II (the first can be seen on my IG feed as it's already been cast and set). It's made for a shield cut Beryl (the family of stones that aquamarine and emerald belong to) from Tanzania cut by Beth Stier and sourced by Anza Gems.

Below is the third ring for Paradiso Pt. II, an elongated seafoam tourmaline from Congo cut by Peter Torraca, also sourced by Anza Gems.

SNORKELING

IN OUR LOCAL LITTLE COVE

There is a shallow little cove near our house that we love to visit at least once a week. When the water is calm, we love to put on snorkel gear and swim around the rock jetty to see all the beautiful tropical fish. Hannah from Two Thirds Honey recently told me that iPhones (model 12 and up) are basically waterproof! I had to try it out for myself to see. And yes! I submerged my phone with no case at all underwater for a few minutes at a time and it operated fine (and still does). This is really exciting for me because I've been wanting to share this underwater world with you all for years as it inspires a lot of my work but I haven't had a way to document it.

Here are some of the fish we saw this week. It was a stormy day but the water was calm and a gorgeous shade of seafoam green.

We also found a lot of pretty shells, one of which was an abalone fragment that had the most beautiful oil-slick color palette. It reminded me of some rings that are currently available so I put together a stack inspired by the shell.

Opalescent Purple Sapphire Ring

Blue Sapphire Trillion Ring

Not listed above but also available is the smaller light purple sapphire ring. It was made as a charity collaboration between myself and Caleb Quashen during the hurricanes and fires of late last year and January of this year. It is $2,650 and you can email me at hello@palm-sunday.com if you're interested in purchasing it. It has a matte gold finish and can be sized.

SPEAKING OF FISH

MORE FISH PENDANTS COMING

As soon as I get back from a trip to NC in early September, I'll be listing the new mother-of-pearl fish pendants. They are made from antique Chinese gaming counters and cultured pearls. I will have 8 available this first round and will make more if these sell out.

I'll also be restocking two of these more dimensional fish pendants: