A Convenient Souvenir

When I (conveniently) forgot to wear earrings one day in June while in Ortigia, I saw these in a jewelry store window. I walked in and asked to see them. The salesman began his pitch to sell them to me, which I thought was hilarious because I knew exactly what they were… “Hand painted ceramic…

Coral Salt Earrings

Jewelry-designer Daniela Neri created these unique earrings that recall Sicilian ceramics with tarantella dancers. Daniela is a native of Trapani, and she takes the salt from the local salt flats and makes “coral” out of it–in other words, the beads that you see are not made of semi-precious stones, shells, coral, or glass, but of…

Tatting and a Little Chatting

Signora Pipia, the mother of artist Mirella Pipia, is quite a talent herself! Here, she proudly displays earings that she crafted. With beads and specially chosen thread, really a type of high quality strings of different colors and fibers, she utilized tatting to make these exquisite pieces of jewelry. Tatting in Italian is known as…