STAFF PICKS: Joanie

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Digby and Iona Fighting Bear Ring
Hundreds of years ago in England, when people didn't have the first notion about animal rights, they'd herd and capture bears for sport and force them into battle at London's Bear Garden. I'm not kidding. Elizabeth I was a huge fan. Spectator Robert Laneham described the pastime as "goodly relief." No, history does not smile upon bears. There's the poaching, the humiliation at the hands of Eastern and Western circuses alike and enough taxidermy to fill dozens of stadiums. Can't we just leave poor bears alone? Digby & Iona has concocted a brilliant way to enjoy the power, form and ferocity of Friend Bear without all the bloodshed, degradation and fuss. And I could stare at it for hours. This regally intricate vermeil ring boasts two ursine beasts going head to head in the ultimate battle for life. Or quite possibly, they're just trying to hug.

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Pade Vavra Drusy Studs
Let me start with a confession: my ears aren't pierced. They'll probably never be pierced. Sometimes I like to play a game with myself and daydream of the conditions under which I'd give in to the siren call of the punctured lobe. Now, picture time travel. Picture a magical conflation between real life and a certain made-for-TV movie in 1987. A rewriting of scientific history. Jeff Goldblum as Jim Watson (of DNA pioneer duo Watson and Crick) somehow finds himself in modern-day Williamsburg. I am the reincarnated Rosalind Franklin (who passed away before she could receive a Nobel prize for her trailblazing moves in molecular biology).  Watson/Goldblum  approaches me in supernatural infatuation and a courtship-beyond-the-laws-of-time ensues.  What sort of gift would this maverick man of science bring me? How does the genius nerd with style reveal his heart's truest affections?  Pade Vavra Drusy Studs, that's how. These little ovals of light tickle the minerologist and the vixen in me, all at once. Once my fantasy science love has presented me Vavra's golden encrustations, we meld in a double helix of eternal passion. And that's what'd get me to consider piercing my ears.

Picture 4

Digby and Iona Fighting Bear Ring
Hundreds of years ago in England, when people didn't have the first notion about animal rights, they'd herd and capture bears for sport and force them into battle at London's Bear Garden. I'm not kidding. Elizabeth I was a huge fan. Spectator Robert Laneham described the pastime as "goodly relief." No, history does not smile upon bears. There's the poaching, the humiliation at the hands of Eastern and Western circuses alike and enough taxidermy to fill dozens of stadiums. Can't we just leave poor bears alone? Digby & Iona has concocted a brilliant way to enjoy the power, form and ferocity of Friend Bear without all the bloodshed, degradation and fuss. And I could stare at it for hours. This regally intricate vermeil ring boasts two ursine beasts going head to head in the ultimate battle for life. Or quite possibly, they're just trying to hug.





Bittersweets Monkey Paw Keychain (in store)
How do you keep track of your keys? It reveals more than you might think.  Picture them jingling on a sportive lanyard around some sweaty, hulking man's neck.  Now recall the bejeweled astrological charm dangled between your cousin's mauve claws as she unlocks her Camaro.  Why, in this neck of the woods, you can't even throw a rock without hitting one of those springloaded carabiners chock full of keys, answering the call of mountain and forest alike. Are you an urban athlete? A Jersey Shore aristocrat? Stalwart utilitarian? Or a morbid late Edwardian with kismet on the brain?  Bittersweets proposes a piece very near to my heart here at Catbird: the brass Monkey's Paw keychain. A spine tingling short story was written in 1902 chronicling this creepy talisman's life-altering powers. Brought back from India by a member of the British Armed Forces, the paw serves as a hideous reminder not to stand in fate's way.  In spite of all that's changed in the last century, people remain identical in their willingness to put everything on the line for the sake of greed. Rather than spoil the plot, I leave you with this thought: isn't it a great idea to arm yourself with the daily reminder to be careful what you wish for? It's not just a keychain, it's a lesson in destiny!

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