Some NEW(s): Lock rings, paper-free packaging, and other things, too.

June 20, 2024By Marla Aaron

Happy June everyone!

I’ll start by saying the theme of this newsletter is that we can’t leave good enough alone. It's not that we don’t think a ring can simply be a ring. It can. We love a good ring. But when a ring can have balls that roll sitting on your finger or a spinning trundle and then, in a pinch be a Lock? We could not help ourselves…and we hope you can’t help yourself either.

Rolling Spheres rings and things are delightfully fun there is no doubt. But last year I asked to see if we could add a hinge to it and see what happened. Why? Because we were supposed to make a Rolling Spheres Lock and the ones we made were not as interesting as the Rolling Spheres ring so…yeah the ring needed to become a Lock. Adding a seamless hinge to this ring simply made sense. Do you need a ring full of balls that roll with a hinge to hang things from? That’s for you to decide. We just make the jewelry.

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If you happen to be a fly on the wall in one of our weekly development meetings, you would hear our collective cry over and over again: “try to make it in silver.” We get it. Truly, we spend an unimaginable amount of time trying to make our functional pieces in sterling silver. It is difficult to achieve, but we are devoted to the task. This is our very first all-silver Chubby Trundle Lock Ring, and we have added an embossed floral design. While it functions like the year it was made (2024), it has a feel reminiscent of something from the 16th century. The word “trundle” means “wheel” and is actually a 16th century old English word so...that too.

Most importantly it is a beautiful ring rendered in silver and for those of you who have hankered after our hand engraved pieces, it is a chance to play in that sandbox in a different yet beautiful way.

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Perhaps you saw that we introduced some new packaging last week. After taking a look at our packaging — a harsh look — we decided we would begin to get rid of some things and look for better solutions for others.

The lens was very simple. What are things we could give our customers that they would keep? What do they not keep? Which is why our box is the first thing to go. We are literally “unboxing” which in the jewelry world is a bit crazy but we think the timing is right. We are replacing it with something exponentially more beautiful, wool felt pouches made from upcycled consumer waste.

They’re amazing. And, not unlike our jewelry, they have a job. They make excellent holders for lots of things. As part of this process we are not throwing the boxes away but using them until the end so this changeover is not a straight path but more of a meandering one. We will of course continue to have our custom leather boxes for our more significant pieces but all other pieces will be in these new pouches. We are not done yet and this is just the beginning of our journey here. We are exploring lots of other materials.

Finally, a word about Talking Chains and I am not being ironic. Your response to them has been extraordinary. For those who have not yet, these are not just nameplate jewelry. They are chains that seamlessly integrate words, symbols, and numbers into a single, fluid design. The words are the chain — not just part of the chain. They ARE the chain. All that’s left is what you’ll say? Start building yours here.