This Woman's Work

One beautiful, sun-filled, glorious Spring day, while on a much-needed and hard-earned kid-free weekend trip to the Bay Area, my friend Marissa and I stumbled upon an estate sale on the fair isle of Alameda. The house, built in the 1920’s, seemed like a simple two story from the outside. What we couldn’t tell as we looked on curiously from the car was that it was multi-leveled. We must have counted at least ten layers as we perused each nook and cranny. Every corner of it was filled with unimaginable treasures, memories and the love of family.

In the basement of that old house, on the workbench of the gentleman who used to live there, sat a container full of small silver-toned washers. I didn’t know just what they would become at that time. I only knew I was fascinated with them and that somehow, they would be the perfect juxtaposition needed to create a line of jewelry that was both edgy and feminine.

Those washers, decidedly industrial, yet beautiful, reminded me of the women who worked on the old naval base on the island in the 1940’s, women who showed the world that femininity and strength was a many-splendored thing. Our work as women is powerful, sustaining and never ending. What we do to keep the world afloat is often lost in the daily grind of it all, but nonetheless, it remains the driving force of life.