Design Notes
The idea of the Birth of Venus came from being surrounded all the time by shells as a child. Looking close up at shells, stacking them one over the other, and then collecting them in my bag every day leaving the beach - inevitably ending up with a collection of shells by the end of the holidays that was too heavy to carry back home. This is what this piece reminds me of: the sense of wonder of a child. The rawness of real shells, and the reality of nature.
I wear it in the summer but also in the winter. When we created it it really reminded me of Botticelli's Birth of Venus, which I named it after.
ETHOS
Produced in a family run workshop of 7 workmen and women, our pieces are exclusively carved and crafted by hand in Athens, using Ancient Greek jewellery-making techniques and silversmithing. As champions of slow production, we create only small quantities per design. If a piece is sold out you are welcome to place a pre-order, which has a three week turnaround period, for a piece to be made exclusively for you. Unique designs that are not part of our core collection of YSSO Icons, will no longer be available once they sell out. Explore more about our story in the article about YSSO in the New York Times.