A shawl pin as a jewelry form has an interesting series of constraints that we work with every time we design a shawl pin with you and your beautiful knitted and crocheted garments in mind.

1. It has to hold onto the knitted / crocheted garment or accessory. Your shawl or garment closure should feel (and be) securely fastened on the body and should resist getting lost. This is why we put wiggles in our shawl sticks as they hold onto the knitwear and rest in the opening of the shawl pin, maintaining a snug relationship between the ring and the stick.

2. It should complement the garment or accessory it adorns. This is a matter of taste and depends upon the piece with which you are pairing it. We create collections of pins and sticks in very different styles so that whatever your taste there is a shawl pin or stick that works for you.

3. It should be light. Some of our designs are heavier than others but we pay attention to weight, working to create designs that have beautiful features that also put air into the design, creating space, openings in the work that reduce the amount of metal we use and so reduce the weight.

Palace Pavilion Shawl Pin - with open work representing the doorways of a royal courtyard colonnade.

Moroccan Window Shawl Pin - with open grill work based on the elaborate carved openings in windows in cultures where women are protected and hidden behind these gorgeous screens that let them look out on the world without being seen, preserving their privacy while giving them a view of what's going on outside.

4. It should be affordable. We use the best materials and the most skilled artisans available to us at affordable prices. We pay our artisans what they ask us; we never push down their stated prices as living wage and fair trade is important to us. At the same time we keep you in mind, working to offer a range of price points so that whatever your budget you can find something in our line that feels economically comfortable.

5. It should be beautiful and interesting. We are inspired by travel and art, ethnic and historic design and the natural world. We bring these influences into our collections and work to tell the stories that informed the shapes we produce for you. We want these stories to be part of what makes our pieces interesting and we always care whether they are beautiful. You spend time making your garments and accessories. You look for gorgeous and sensuous materials and devote your physical energy to what you create. We feel a sense of responsibility to respond to that devotion and attention by devoting and attending to the ornaments we make that help you to feel fabulous in your knitted and crocheted creations.

Dayak Shawl Pin - based on ceremonial representations of the Hornbill bird made by Dayak people in Indonesia

Coil Shawl Pin - based on an ancient Hmong earring from Southeast Asia, a form of women's wealth and symbolizing boundless energy and infinite time.

These constraints form my design goals when I create shawl pins for you. And one more thing: 

6. You should love it.