Over a decade ago, my husband and I moved up to the Catskills from Brooklyn for a change in the quality of our lives. The rat race of New York City was very much not for me, but I love that it’s still close enough to pop in and take advantage of it when I want to.
I was recently itching for a trip, which coincided nicely with where I am in the process of developing a new collection. That was the prefect excuse to go into the city to visit my vendors and do some supply shopping, and my trip at the end of July followed my usual formula:
Hop on a morning train into NYC. The train ride along the Hudson River is perfect for catching up on some reading or doing a bit of laptop work.
Arrive mid-morning at Grand Central, grab coffee. Grand Central is such a lovely welcome to the city: The painted constellation ceiling! The architectural details! I take a moment to admire it, and then immediately proceed to finding a cup of coffee on my way out since I usually miss my morning cups of coffee in order to make the train.
Grand Central Station! The ceiling gets me every time.
Visit vendors, try (often unsuccessfully) sticking to my shopping list. Most of my vendors and supply shops are in the same area, and are a quick walk away from the train station. This time my first stop was Daniel Casting to drop off my wax models; they’re the ones who turn my waxes into actual metal pieces. After that I hopped over to my chain vendor, and sometimes I’ll also go shopping for special stones or visit ribbon and cord suppliers.
LUNCH!! I miss the plentiful and delicious food options available in New York City, so I always make a point of planning a good lunch. This time it was Librae Bakery for their incredible smoked salmon sandwich and pastries.* Past winners have been Stretch Pizza, Momosan, and Olea.
The reason I made this trip in the first place: to drop off these wax models with my caster.
Like so many vendors in the city, my caster is hidden behind relatively nondescript doors in long, weirdly lit hallways.
Walking around Rockefeller Center.
Decisions, decisions, decisions — the pastry selection at Librae.
Afternoon museum visit. How can 1 place have such a high density of incredible museums?! I *have* to visit at least one each time I visit, and in July I went to The Morgan Library to see their show, “Tarot! Renaissance Symbols, Modern Visions”. After about an 1-1/2 to 2 hours at any museum my brain starts to short-circuit and it’s time to move on.
The entrance to “Tarot!” at the Morgan Library.
Some modern interpretations of the tarot at the Morgan Library show.
An incredible, fully embroidered jacket by Maria Grazia Chiuri for Dior with her take on various tarot cards.
A detail of that jacket showing Maria Grazia Chiuri’s interpretation of the card, “The Moon.”
Visit a jewelry shop or two. I love seeing what other people are making, seeing jewelry in person, and enjoying the small worlds people build within their shops. I can’t help but pick a store or two to visit and drool over all the things.
Hop on the train back home. Afterwards I head back to Grand Central, grabbing a final flavored coffee and pastries on the way. I’ll do more reading or laptop work on the train home, arriving just in time for dinner and a whole evening to rest my tired feet.
A few weeks have passed since that trip, and those waxes that I dropped off have come back to me as metal castings ready to be turned into necklaces, earrings, and rings. I can’t wait to share how those pieces are coming together, but in the meantime you can check out my progress so far over on Instagram.
Until next time, NYC 👋🏼
The silver castings that came back a few weeks later from my caster!
*Yes, I walked 40 blocks out of my way for Librae. And yes, the sandwich and rose & pistachio croissants were worth it. And don’t sleep on the coconut & key lime bread pudding or the loomi babka buns, either 🤤