I get a lot of comments on my jewelry…particularly a lot of the longer necklaces that I wear layered in and amongst each other. While a staple in this category is a silver Falling Whistle (check them out here…), a couple of the other pieces that have garnered their fair share of attention come from a brand called Pyrrha. I first came across this brand at one of my favourite pretty things haunt, Rubaiyat in Calgary, and the Pyrrha case is always one that I find myself returning to whenever I find myself in the city.
{Anchor Wax Seal Necklace, $182, Pyrrha}
Courtesy of the Canadian designers Wade Papin and Danielle Wilmore (now based in LA), Pyrrha is a line based on the use of wax seals pressed into dusky metals in a way that preserves the cracks and character of the orignal seals. It has this unique vintage-esque feel to it, while holding on to an amazing message that comes with each of the talismans. Each seal has a crest or symbol with a meaning. For instance the Globe Crest pendant that I oft don has the words at spes non fracta below a crest and a rainbow, where the phrase means hope is not yet lost in Latin. Ah yes…hope…something that I often times remind myself to have. Cast in bronze on a gunmetal toned chain, this necklace really does transcend a lot of styles, and looks equally at home over a classics Brooks Brother button down, or with a loose black cape-esque cashmere sweater. While I can’t track down the Globe Crest on their website, this Anchor Wax Seal that reads still have hope above the crest is one that I might need to look into adding to my collection in short order.
As per the “About Us” section on their website, the collection came as a result of an excellent find of 19th century wax seals, where the idea is “was inspired by a desire to give the fragile wax seals new life and permanence.” The other component part of the design philosophy that I really find attractive about the brand is that it is not mass-produced. As Wade and Danielle explain on their website: “everything seems to be cranked out at a staggering pace and then left for dead. Because we live in such a throwaway society, it’s necessary to create some things that can be kept.” I only wish that this kind of sentiment was held more commonly amongst people in general in the way that they treat their acquisition of things. I know we’re all a little guiltily of consumerism for consumerism sake (…and yes, I absolutely include myself in that occasionally), and now when I wear my pieces from Pyrrha perhaps they can be a bit of a reminder to take a little more care.
{Wax Seal Initial Necklace, $166, Pyrrha}
The piece I have been layering my Globe Crest with is one of the initial keys. A piece that I received for Christmas just this season past. To get ever so slightly philosophical about it all, I think about the key as a consideration of my own ability to unlock my own potential and the crest as a reminder that there is still time to accomplish some of the hopes, dreams, and aspirations that I still hold. As a graduate student, sometimes those two reminders are something that I truly crave and need.
So a little philosophy and a few pretty things for your Thursday. Pyrrha can be found at a number of jewelry boutiques across North America, and in fact worldwide, with their flagship store in LA. If you can’t happen to find it locally, be sure to mosey on over to their space on the interwebs and peruse and order your own bit of thought-provoking jewelry there (…pst…they ship nearly everywhere from the sounds of things). Prices range, with the necklaces I’ve listed here sitting around the $150-200 range.
anonymouschic 