Page’s August Recommendations
I always love hearing what people are reading, watching, listening to, wearing and eating during, so I thought I’d share a few of the things I’ve been enjoying this summer.
Jewelry: The Myriad Necklace
I probably shouldn’t be sharing this yet, but I’m going to anyway.
Over the past few years we’ve introduced two bands into our Myriad Collection which up until now has been defined by a mix of gemstone cuts and a burnished setting. They’ve already been loved by many.
This fall we’re expanding the collection into fine jewelry among other pieces.
I’ve been wearing the mixed cut Myriad diamond necklace all summer while putting it through what I consider the most important product test: real life. It’s been in the ocean, lakes, on hiking trails, sunscreened, and pulled at by tired children.
So far, it’s passed with flying colors.
I’m already thinking about making one for myself with emeralds and blue-green sapphires, two of my favorite gemstones.
Stay tuned for the collection launch in late September or early October.
Summer Reading : We Will Be Jaguars by Nemonte Nenquimo
This is one of the most extraordinary books I’ve ever read. I don’t want to describe it too much because I think it’s best experienced for yourself.
But a brief synopsis is that Nemonte Nenquimo grew up in an Indigenous Waorani community in the Ecuadorian Amazon and left during her adolescence with missionaries before returning in her early adulthood. I’m roughly the same age as Nemonte, and it is wild to read a contemporary memoir that describes such a vastly different lifestyle. It made me consider in a deeper way than I have before about how disconnected those of us living in urban western cultures have become from many of our senses as well as the plants and animals that surround us.
It’s also such a profound critique of capitalism from a culture that had really not been exposed to it until the past sixty years. Thinking about your life outside of the concept of money is a really fascinating mental exercise.
The extraction she writes about is oil rather than gemstones or precious metals, but reading such a personal account of how resource extraction affects a community feels relevant to the work we do at Bario Neal.
When we are researching mines and suppliers, it’s easy to become removed from the actual environment that is being harmed. For me, this book brought those realities into focus in a way that statistics and reports never could.
Nemonte is now the founder of Amazon Frontlines, an organization that works alongside Indigenous communities to defend their rights, land, and culture. So all and all, read the book and donate to her organization.
Activity Recommendation: Chilling by the Water
I’m particularly fond of the ocean. This photo of me (you can find me by the bowl cut) with my brother and cousin, sitting with my grandfather on his boat, is forever stamped in my head as what summer should be even as I sit at my desk writing a Substack with the AC blaring. I’m always just trying to recreate summers at my grandparents’ in coastal North Carolina.
Music Recommendation: Kurt Vile’s new album Philly’s Been Good to Me
Kurt Vile is a Philadelphia musician who also happens to live in my neighborhood, which often is featured in his lyrics. Love a hometown hero!
I saw him perform his new album Philly’s Been Good to Me a couple of weeks ago. Not only is it really fantastic (like all of his albums), but it also captures how I feel.
Philadelphia really has been good to me. I don’t think we could have launched Bario Neal anywhere else and have flourished like we did. It’s a city that people love to hate on, but I think Philadelphians secretly like that.
Food Recommendation: Pietramala
If you’re in Philadelphia, go to Pietramala. It’s one of my favorite vegan restaurants in the city.
I eat mostly vegetables (though I’m not strictly vegetarian), can’t eat dairy or soy, so I really appreciate restaurants that celebrate vegetables without relying heavily on processed substitutes.
Pietramala has such an innovative way of cooking vegetables and in the summer when everything is fresh and peaking, it’s just beyond good.
Movie Recommendation: The Testament of Ann Lee
This movie had been recommended to me over and over again this winter, and when I finally watched it during this summer’s heatwave, it lived up to the hype.
What I mostly knew about the Shakers before I watched this movie was that they made beautiful furniture and died off because they practiced celibacy. Had no idea that they were actual Quakers, and were originally called the Shaking Quakers because of their dancing. The dancing in this movie feels very raw and contemporary. My description won’t do it justice, watch it!
Exhibition Recommendation: A World in the Making The Shakers at the Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia (ICA)
I know, Shakers again. But trust me, it’s good. Unfortunately, though the show just came down, but you can still get the catalog…
After watching The Testament of Ann Lee, I wanted to check out this show.
I studied product design in graduate school, so Shaker products and furniture have always fascinated me. The Shakers’ belief in form over function and their minimalistic approach to simplicity, played a big part in inspiring the 20th century modernist movement. It’s an aesthetic that I am always drawn to.
Now whether or not I’d want my craft to become my religion is another question, but I do admire that level of devotion to making something well and their respect for their materials.
What have you been loving this summer?