January Roundup
Marking our roundup's first lap around the sun.
This is my second January Roundup, which means I’ve been writing these monthly recaps for a whole year. I’m not going to lie, I’ve surprised myself by sticking with these newsletters for this long. Okay, I wasn’t perfect — I did skip one month because I thought no one was reading them. But then you promptly let me know you missed them, much to my surprise! That feedback was all the encouragement I needed to keep going, so thank you to everyone who reads these and to those who let me know I’m not just shouting into a black hole over here :)
I’m cheating a little this month and including some things from December, since my roundup that month ending up turning into a year-long recap:
(01) A Perfect Holiday Cookie Parcel
I guess I’ll work through this roundup chronologically, starting back in the holidays. My friend Stefanie Brückler is an incredible baker and graphic designer, and those two talents combined in the form of the most INSANE HOLIDAY COOKIE PARCEL I’ve ever received. Just look at this!
The detail that sent me over the edge was the little guide she created to go with it (as I mentioned earlier, incredible graphic designer). Not only were there tasting notes but also allergen and pregnancy warnings — so thoughtful!
(02) The Locavore Variety Store
On Christmas Eve I popped by The Locavore Variety Store to pick up some last-minute items for the holiday. The shop, located in Greenwich Village, is curated by Caroline Weaver and features goods that are “all grown / baked / fabricated / assembled / crafted / concocted / sewn / stuffed / pickled within 100 miles of NYC.” She also has an online (and now in-print) guide to independently-owned NYC businesses, all lovingly crowd-sourced and hand-picked.
Caroline, like me, is passionate about shopping small and locally whenever possible. As she says, “in a world of algorithms and convenience, most of us have lost touch with the ways in which shopping acts as a gateway for community building.”
Shopping small and from independently-owned stores is an action I’ve been trying to incorporate into my lifestyle more and more over the past several years. I have a lot of thoughts on the subject, which I think I’ll save for a separate post… but in the meantime, if you live in NYC, I encourage you to use Caroline’s guide for your shopping needs (or stop by her shop and say hi!).
(03) Beloved Butchers
On the topic of local sourcing, one of my favorite businesses to support throughout the year (and especially during the holidays) is Ends Meat. While I try my best to reduce my environmental footprint, one lifestyle sacrifice I’ve never been able to make is giving up meat — I just love it too dang much. (To all the vegetarians and vegans out there, thank you, I salute you!)
To reduce my impact (and admittedly my guilt), whenever I have a big Meat Moment™️ I purchase from either Ends Meat or the Meat Hook. Both shops are whole animal butchers, which means they utilize each and every part of any animal they source down to the organs, bones, and fat. They also work exclusively with local farmers who prioritize animal welfare and sustainable practices. My thinking is, if I’m going to make a meat-heavy Christmas dinner, I should at least buy the meat from the right place.
Oh and if you’re curious: I made a roast chicken (using the recipe I mentioned in November’s Roundup), a ham (a la Alison Roman’s Ham Party), and a leg of lamb (this one I just kind of made up using a mish mash of recipes).
(04) Solid Gold
An exhibition called ‘Solid Gold’ is currently showing at the Brooklyn Museum, and as soon as I sent out the last of my holiday orders I treated myself to a solo museum date to check it out.
The show is about gold and the work it’s inspired across various media, cultures, and throughout history. This means the exhibition included pieces that simply replicated gold in color and materiality, which is cool of course, but honestly I found myself mostly ignoring those and making a beeline straight to all the real gold. Sorry, a jeweler can’t help herself!
Highlights for me included a set of solid gold tweezers (decadent!) by the Calima people in Colombia circa 300 BCE, a CHONK of a buillion disc recovered from a shipwreck in 1622, and a piece of fabric woven from 18k yellow gold.
As is always the case when I see old jewelry in a museum, I was reminded of the incredible enduring quality of gold. It never ceases to amaze me how so many of the pieces could be worn today as is, straight from the museum case, despite first being made and worn in literal ancient times. It’s one of the many reasons why I love making fine jewelry.
(05) Non-Jewelry Accessories
I hate wearing things on my head. I don’t know why, but for some reason I’m just not a hat person. It’s even documented on Vogue that I’m headwear-averse (lol).
This makes winter a tad difficult, especially when temperatures drop to real-feel negatives like they did in NYC this January. While I’ve always gotten by repurposing my scarves like how I explain in the aforementioned Vogue article, I’ve found myself craving a more elegant solution this year (and looking at my beanie-clad friends with envy). Enter, the headscarf.
A completely simple yet versatile accessory, I don’t know how I didn’t think of this earlier. When I saw this video of Dana of Hyer Goods styling her Merino Head Scarf I leapt to purchase with an immediacy I rarely experience. Unfortunately they had already sold out of the black color, so I ended up purchasing one of these instead. They’re machine knit by a Brooklyn woman using a blend of merino wool and cashmere — supposedly a great combo for avoiding hair static and retaining warmth.
I’m extremely happy (and cozy) with my purchase, and I like how versatile the triangle shape is — sometimes I’ll drape it over my shoulders for a little extra layer if I’m chilled but don’t want to don my full winter jacket.
FYI: Even though I didn’t end up purchasing from them, Hyer Goods has a really great selection of winter headwear including beanies, balaclavas, and (of course) headscarves. Bonus: they’re all made from deadstock materials and factory scraps otherwise headed for the landfill.
(06) Raffle for LA Wildfire Relief
In case you missed it, this past month I raffled off a Tilt Signet Ring to raise money for people who lost their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires. I was blown away by the response — in just four days, we were able to raise a total of $6,390! Every dollar was donated either directly to individuals or to their GoFundMe pages.
It was a really incredible reminder of the power we all have to make a difference in this world, no matter what our calling (at times I’ve felt sheepish about the fact that I make fine jewelry, an inherently non-necessary luxury good, for a living). I’m invigorated and inspired to find even more ways to use Abel to contribute to causes I care about.
Thank you to everyone who participated and helped spread the word about the raffle, its success wouldn’t have been possible without you. If you’d like to find additional ways to help LA, here is a list of LA fire relief sources and a master list of GoFundMe pages.
P.S. I’m going on vacation!
I haven’t taken a proper vacation since deciding to go full time with Abel, but this month that finally changes! As I’ll be heading out of town, any orders placed between 2/2-19 will be processed on February 20th. Thank you for your patience as I take this much needed time off :)
The solid gold exhibit looks so good
Excited for you to have a break and go on vacation! ❤️