November 6-9 
Trickponi Event
at
3210 O Street 
Georgetown, Washington DC 20007 


November 21-23  
Trickponi Event
at
7711 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90046

November 23  
Tamarind Boutique: Trunk Show
at
180 Morris St Suite 170 
Sebastopol, California 95472

December 4:  Seattle Visit

December 21:  Marin 

**Stay tuned for more information on our December events!**

    Growing up in "Typical-Suburbia", New Jersey, public transportation, aggressive beeping cab drivers and the never-ending symphony of car alarms and dogs barking were anything but familiar to me.  It didn't take long after accepting an internship with the fabulous and talented Blair Lauren Brown (which would require me to stay in and travel throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan daily), for my hyperventilating-sweaty-palms anxiety to creep in.  It also didn't help that I am the youngest of a huge Italian-American family who has had the experience of growing up in New York at some point in their life (except for me, obviously) so no one understood why I couldn't grasp the concept of "gridded streets" and "numbered streets go north-to-south" (I think?).  


Two short weeks later and despite my inability to grip my steering wheel due to my excessive anxiety-sweat, I was officially headed to my aunt's house in Brooklyn to start the work week.  With less sympathy and more fear of me being abducted in her intentions, my mother generously planned my public transportation route starting at Aunt Jo's front steps and ending at Blair's.  


In preparation of my big-girl travel route, I purchased a $10.00 MetroCard to smoothly board the bus, divert attention from my incompetency of the city and hope to blend in with the Brooklyn natives.  Naturally, my experience was anything but smooth.  As I stepped onto the crowded B69 at the corner of  Terrace and McDonald Avenue, I immediately asked the bus driver to alert me when the Bergen Street stop was up in which he proceeded to (loudly) tell me I was speaking too softly and that he'd make an announcement when the time came.  As if that wasn't embarrassing enough, I managed to slide my MetroCard in the machine in every possible (wrong) way until the bus driver gave me a sympathetic chuckle, took my card and slid it in correctly.  At this point, the crowded bus could read the bold neon sign above my head that said, "I'M NOT FROM HERE".  I hurried to an open seat and hoped to stay incognito for the rest of the trip.


I arrived at Blaire's office in one piece as well as managed to get home later that day (its the same trip just- opposite..right?).  However, after a few days of taking the bus, what I noticed was a pattern that went from cute and adorable to questionably concerning.  Without taking the 5 seconds to analyze my MetroCard, I'd just blindly shove it into the machine and hope for the best.  Unfortunately for me, I was wrong. Every. Damn. Time. And not just one flip-wrong. I spent, on average, 8 seconds at the machine giggling to hide my tears while outwardly blaming the MetroCard stating, "I've never used this thing for a bus before" rather than admitting that I am simply not a city girl. 


Knowing these embarrassing yet laughable series of events were at my expense, I decided to go to my family for a pick-me-up that they undoubtedly managed to achieve (featured on the right).  Remember, being a city-girl is not something you'll learn over night..or two....or three or...-oh, you get it.  Just know that when the cuteness wares out, you best have an alternate plan...like actually learning how to insert a MetroCard- or driving your car.

The skulls in the Grizzly Love Jewelry Collection are modeled after the Tibetan prayer beads used in a form of a Buddhist mala. They originated as a tool for contemplating the meaning of life and death during meditation. 

Skulls a traditional represention of death in Tibet, were incorperated by Buddhists into malas to represent the impermanence of life and the limits of human knowledge, beckoning for reflection upon the inevitability of death and the necessity of embracing lives filled with compassion. All sounds good to me!

Traditionally these beads are carved from yak bone to re-emphasize the skull's symbolism. It is also said to honor the beasts of burden that serve mankind and to inspire devotees to likewise serve their fellowmen. That said - I try to remember that I can't serve anyone else unless I am serving myself. Selfish as it may sound many a story will reiterate the same. 

My Personal Connection to Shasta -
In 2012, I summited with a group of amazing women. The group was brought together by the Breast Cancer Fund in an annual climb called Climb Against the Odds (more here).  Life Changing!