05/30/2026
Introducing our Livinia Jewelry Collection ⢠The first in a series of bespoke adornment collections by CAROLINE -
For as long as I can remember, I have had an innate affinity for beading and how we adorn ourselves with decoration, talismans, symbolism, and storytelling.
Adornment is one of our oldest languages.
Before there was fashion or status or luxury, there was a primal desire to decorate the body. If I may digress, this obsession is directly related to my interest in body decoration and even textiles as they relate to our human story. More on that laterâŚ
This debut collection is deeply inspired by a woman I met when I was young. Her name was Livinia.
She had a shop and gallery in Hinsdale that was this magical sort of salon where she mostly sold beads from all over the world and artwork.
She was beautifully eccentric, warm, mysterious, elegant, and fun. She invited everyone into her shop as if it were her home, regardless of age.
Livinia frequently had visitors from Africa hanging out with her â men in colorful robes wearing beads â and they brought Africa to her. And they were her friends.
She would always make you feel like an old friend she hadnât seen in a long time. So we went, and we stayed, and we talked, and we beaded. Some were there as serious makers; others were just kids making necklaces and bracelets. My friend and I once gathered some ancient beads, went off to a patch of grass nearby, and adorned a pouch we made from deerskin.
I still have that pouch, and it is one of my prized possessions â a reminder of a time before us, and a time before the real world had taken hold, when we had time to sit and make something that came from within.
No classes needed. We just created this beautiful and imperfect little thingâŚ. (Read Full Journal Entry in Profile Link)
