Tanager and Pomegranate

This pin is too lovely for a crap iSight photo, so I used this one instead. I'd never heard of a tanager before, but he's a handsome little bird to be sure, and complements the stylized pomegranate tree very nicely as he swings from the branch.

While aesthetic value is reason enough to wear this pin, I chose it because it matched my sense of being 'attached' to work, but not yet 'in' the work, having been away for a week. Fortunately there wasn't too much to catch up on, so I'm already feeling back to normal.

Like the Dragonfly and the Owl in the Tree, this pin was designed by Dawn Estrin & George Wilson, who clearly know a thing or two about how to make great jewelry. It's a glorious, deliciously asymmetrical ensemble of silver, garnets and a found photo behind glass. Stunning.

Orbit Girl

We're back from our vacation in upstate NY, rested, relaxed and refreshed. Martin and Caroline were the ideal hosts, so a huge thank you to them. Hopefully Christy will blog about our trip soon - she's better at that kind of stuff than me, because I "never go into the details" she says. True, how true.

Here's another Mark Poulin design (there's a better photo here), the second of the three pins Christy gave me for Valentine's Day (I posted Baby Bird recently). Orbit Girl is just as cute as Baby Bird, is delightfully asymmetrical and (for me) has a quiet air of stoicism about her, making her a welcome companion as I eased myself back into work.

Baby Bird

It's been too long since I posted anything, and now I have a backlog of new pins, so let's move swiftly on. Christy and I are headed to upstate New York to stay with our close friends, Martin & Caroline tomorrow, so we celebrated Valentine's Day early. My gifts from her were three pins from one designer: Baby Bird (enlarged here) is the one I chose to wear today.

All three pins are unspeakably cute, fun and delightful, and were designed by Mark Poulin, who has an extensive portfolio of work that's well worth perusing. Made of brushed silver, the Baby Bird's form pushes all the buttons that predispose us to look kindly on babies of any kind. Utterly irresistible.