Growing up, I would spend a month every summer visiting my grandparents in Douarnenez, in Brittany in France, enjoying the beach and the city streets lined with artsy shops that came alive with visitors during the summer months. Douarnenez has always been known for the colorful buildings that adorn its streets and give it its distinctly artistic vibe, as well as for its hearty maritime culture. I love the area so much that I have to visit its rocky shores every year.
Douarnenez has changed over the years too. What once was a little-known coastal town has evolved into a notable artistic hub, whose streets are alive with artists and artisans and those who come to enjoy their work—especially during the summer months.
When I visited for the first time Karine's little shop in the city and discovered her beautiful work, I knew we had to collaborate. Karine is a Douarnenez-based artist who creates gorgeous hand-crocheted art. Together we worked on creating a line of necklaces that combined the style of Happy French Gang with Karine’s Douarnenez-influenced craftsmanship. The result was a group of 3 necklaces that I absolutely love. After all, what better way to create something beautiful than to draw from the people and places that inspire you?
Our wave necklaces tell the story of Douarnenez and the sea. Inspired by the form of rolling waves, the necklaces marry the at once powerful and ephemeral essence of the natural world, its cycles ebbing and flowing with each tide, cresting and diminishing in a never ending rhythm. Each necklace is made with a mixture of two textures, part metal and part organic cotton. Elegant and comfortable, these necklaces are a reminder that the forces of nature live not only all around us, but inside of us as well.
Cream Wave Necklace
Light and radiant, the gentle warmth of this necklace is reminiscent of the foam left behind by waves after they’ve broken on the beach. Like these remnants of waves pulled back out to sea, this necklace reminds us that every moment in life—no matter how gently it swells or how intensely it crashes—leaves behind something beautiful for us in its wake.
Black Wave Necklace:
Out beyond the sight of land and below the churning waves lies a part of the sea where light and color diminish into black, and where the world above is forgotten. Just as the dark depths of the ocean hold a beautiful, unseen world, this necklace tells the story of the deep, vibrant world within each of us lying just beneath the surface. To swim in such depths can take courage—but to connect that deeply is to touch the essence of what makes us who we are.
Blue Accent Wave Necklace:
The blue hues of the sea have always drawn curious hearts and daring souls. Looking out over the waves to the horizon, where the deep blue of the ocean meets the light blue of the sky, has been a source of inspiration for artists, poets and musicians since our earliest recorded history. This necklace—black with a subtle blue accent—is a reminder to us to always be inspired, to look out at the horizon—and above all, to never lose that sense of wonder that drives us to explore.
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