Do you ever have those days that feel like medicine for your soul? I had one of those days yesterday. I’ve been craving experiences that hook me back into the things I love. I got to have one of those experiences on Sunday.
I spent the day with my new friend Elyse who is one of the directors of a wonderful jewelry organization called ASJRA (Association for Jewelry and the Related Arts). She’s also a jewelry historian! I could only hope to have an interesting career like that – traveling all over to share my love of jewelry and enrich other peoples’ lives with the history surrounding objects that people love because they make them feel beautiful. Ah, so amazing!
I became a member of ASJRA years ago to keep an eye on the jewelry field while life took me on a path that led me to the career I currently have in education. I’ve always loved the newsletters and articles they’ve shared over the years and made it a point to regularly reach out to Elyse to share my excitement when I read something that fed my soul.
Elyse was so kind and invited me to come to her house to hang out, eat and check out her amazing library of jewelry books. She has over 2,000 books on Art Nouveau jewelry and jewelry from the Arts & Crafts movement. Her library is incredible; after we ate, I sat around and got to pull books off shelves and out of boxes. I got lucky, too, because Elyse was getting rid of some books so she let me pick through the books she was parting with and take a few home. I was thrilled! Her partner, Eric, is a jade dealer and he gave me a historical tour of his jade collection and I couldn’t believe the amazing objects he had. They’re the most incredible pair of people I’ve been fortunate to meet recently, and I was so glad they opened their home and their lives to me for the day.
Like I said, medicine for the soul. I am so thankful for the experience and can’t wait to build more memories with Elyse and Eric.
Here are some highlights from the books that were gifted to me:
From left to right: Cristina necklace, 1981, by Marina B from Marina B: The Art of Jewellery Design by Viviane Jutheau de Witt; Breast ornament, 1898-1899, by René Lalique from Goldsmiths’ Art: 5000 Years of Jewelry and Hollowware by Hermann Schadt; Gold dorsal hand ornament, date unknown, by Kanjimull and Sons from Traditional Jewelry of India by Oppi Untracht.
Amita Lathigra 