A beautiful jewelry designer named Kate,
told me how she too sees her pieces as bits of
history.
Many of her creations have stories.
There was an artist she met while traveling who
later cast some designs for her, or the NYC loft
she was vacating where she had created an entire
line, been married, then divorced, and was
selling a purple couch that didn’t even make a
dent in the high ceilinged space. (In New York
City, living in a huge sunny space like she had
really was kind of historic.)
Of course I had spent many hours in
museums where I marveled at artistry through
the ages, or delighted in how earrings could be
made thousands of years ago and look similar to
modern designs. What were the stories behind
the people that made them? Did they love their
jobs? Was their place in society simply handed to
them through lineage, or did they choose what
they did and go to school for it? Did they ever
consider that their work would end up precious
and protected?
T h e r e w a s s om e t h i n g e v e n m o r e
beautiful taking shape as I continued with
Hearts and Hands. I visited the baking location
for Orwasher’s bakery. I had passed the adorable
shop on Manhattan’s upper east side many
times. Impressed that they had bread made the
traditional way.
I discovered that Orwasher’s
will be celebrating 100 years in business this
year. Many of the people who work there have
stayed on through two owners. It was thrilling
to see the large amounts of bread rising, baking,
and cooling. The entire crew seemed happy to be
there, happy to be a part of making bread and a
part of Orwasher’s history.
They were skilled,
and quick, and to me, even their hands looked
kind and secure, as they shaped loaves, or
sprinkled seeds.
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THE CONE - ISSUE #9 - SPRING 2016