National Poetry Month contest results

We asked you to help us celebrate National Poetry Month, and for four weeks we received postcards from all over the US as well as from Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.

We were excited every day to get our mail and see what beautiful, unusual, and inspiring words and images had come to us. We were overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response to our contest (as was our somewhat bewildered post man, who really earned his money this April), and we loved the glimpse each postcard provided us of the individual sender’s point of view and personality.

And then came the tough job of choosing our favorites. It was a struggle to pick just three from hundreds upon hundreds of fascinating options, but we finally did, and those three are as follows:

Ashley

Poem: Sonnet XVII

Poet: Pablo Neruda

Trans: Stephen Mitchell

Ilona

Poem: Unless (excerpt)

Poet: Robert Penn Warren

Jill

Poem: Notes toward a Supreme Fiction: To Henry Church

Poet: Wallace Stevens

(You can read their full poetry selections at the end of this post)

With so many amazing postcards to catalog, it’s going to take us a bit longer than we originally anticipated to get them all ready for viewing in our store and online. (Again, e-mails and address information will be censored before any postcards are seen by the public.) We will let you know as soon as our 2011 National Poetry Month archive is complete so you can flip through it in our store or check it out online.

Congratulations to our winners, and thank you so very much to all who participated. You’ve made this a National Poetry Month to remember!

Full-length winning entries:

Ashley

Poem: Sonnet XVII

Poet: Pablo Neruda

Translated by Stephen Mitchell

I don't love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that doesn't bloom and carries
hidden within itself the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love, darkly in my body
lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you simply, without problems or pride:
I love you in this way because I don't know any other way of loving
but this, in which there is no I or you,
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.

Ilona

Poem: Unless (excerpt)

Poet: Robert Penn Warren

All is in vain unless you can, motionless, standing there,
Breathe with the rhythm of stars.

You cannot, of course, see your own face, but you know that it,
Lifted, is stripped to white bone by starlight. This is happening.

This is happiness.

Jill

Poem: Notes toward a Supreme Fiction: To Henry Church

Poet: Wallace Stevens

And for what, except for you, do I feel love?
Do I press the extremest book of the wisest man
Close to me, hidden in me day and night?
In the uncertain light of single, certain truth,
Equal in living changingness to the light
In which I meet you, in which we sit at rest,
For a moment in the central of our being,
The vivid transparence that you bring is peace.

In Celebration of Birthdays...

My friend turned me onto Drew Droege doing this hilarious impersonation of Chloe Sevigny and I cannot get enough of of it. I love the hat bracelet she is wearing...makes me laugh every time.

I celebrated my 44th birthday yesterday by taking the day off and just doing whatever I wanted...I got some great books on design and wood joinery in Japan town, had a long overdue massage at the Kabuki Springs and ended the day with dinner with my best pals at Mission Chinese Food. My mouth is still on fire. Now it is back to work today and a new year ahead!

On The Road Again...

We have been feverishly working on designing, hammering up a storm and merchandising away getting ready for our trade show. I had exhibiting for many years in New York but recently took a hiatus when I had my son. Nothing gets the creative flow going like having that show deadline! Sharing a space with me will be dear friend, hero and iconic designer, Lisa Jenks. Known for her graphic large silver pieces, Lisa is also exhibiting for the first time after several years of taking a break. I remember being bowled over by her work in Barneys the first time I ever visited the store in the late 90's. She had an entire vitrine at the entrance. I am looking forward to spending time with her, she is the funniest, warmest, most even keel designers I know.

Sea of Possibilities by Melissa

Clockwise from top: Cameron, Teja 18k, Soul, Little Star 2-tone & Enclosed Coral

Book of poems by Patti Smith, 1996

J.W. Waterhouse The Mermaid, 1900

The very first thing that came to my mind when I saw the Enclosed Coral necklace was Patti Smith. She has a deep love for the sea and has used it as a metaphor over the course of her career as a singer and a poet.

There is no land but the land

There is no sea but the sea

There is no keeper but the key

Except for the one who seizes possibilities...

Dip into the sea...the sea of possibilities...

Another image that comes to mind when I think of the sea is the famous Waterhouse painting of a mermaid, which is what Jeanine's latest collection also reminds me of. You'll find textures and motifs that seem romantically both Victorian and marine - like lost treasures you might find in a old shipwreck...if you're lucky.

In Progress for May

My son had a very slight case of pink eye, or allergies, so we stayed home from work/school. We went to the San Francisco zoo and saw the most amazing bugs in the bug museum. WOW. Walking sticks are the grossest and yet strangely beautiful creatures on earth. I ended up at the Japanese tea garden when Will went down for his nap--Dad was home by then. Hojicha tea and a drawing book in the tea house in Golden Gate Park. During cherry blossom season. Holy nirvana.

It Has Come To My Attention...Alexis Bittar Is Coming To San Francisco

Ken Wingard and I will be co-hosting the grand opening party of Alexis Bittar's San Francisco store this Saturday. Come join us as we celebrate! Welcome to San Francisco, Alexis!

When Alexis Bittar was on the street corner selling his lucite jewelry in front of NYC Moma, I was taking my closet door off to make a design table in my SF studio apartment. We launched ourselves into business at the same time. We met in New York selling our wares and we have been dear friends ever since. Alexis has his feet on the ground and his eyes on the stars. And I mean realones. The last time I was staying with him he was having a glamorous photo shoot with Lauren Hutton. Just another day in the life of my friend, Alexis.

Six reasons I love Alexis:

• He knows how to rock a fanny pack.
  
• He has achieved the state of Grand Master of the fine and ancient art of Japanese Karaoke, (his skill second only to mine.)
• He is a visionary.
• He recently won the prestigious CFDA award for Accessory Designer of the Year.
  
• He is a pretty grounded cat and the best pal a gal could ever have.
  

City Lights

City Lights is one of our favorite bookstores. The beat poet, Lawrence Ferlingetti, is the owner of this historic landmark. The epicenter and birthplace of the beat poetry movement...and we only have to walk a few blocks up the street to get there. Another great place to celebrate National Poetry Month! Go Po Mo!

Oscar M. Quarles Celebrates National Poetry Month

Oscar Morris Quarles works remotely on one of our first sunny days in ages.

Some have asked, "Jeanine, where do you find your poetry?" Well, we have a secret weapon--one of the stars on our team who reports directly to Megan. Stay tuned to see where Mr. Quarles travels this month on his celebratory tour in honor of National Poetry Month.

For PoMo we are celebrating by having a small contest, as one should. For details on how you can receive one of our Three Treasures Books we will be giving away, click here.

Personal Appearance & Trunk Show in Atlanta

In Progress for April

The soul will gravitate around the truth,
as the planet around light.

--Victor Hugo



I will look at cliffs and clouds with quiet eyes,
Watch the wind bow down the grass,
And the grass rise.

--Edna St. Vincent Millay



Look at how nerdy I look at work. It gets COLD in here and I am driven to wear my circa 2001 JP fleece (an X-mas present to the staff one year that I was against but not I wear the most!)

Rock On Gold Dust Woman by Melissa

Crystal Wing, Guardian Book & Safe Passage

Stevie Nicks, mid 1970s

Our new collection speaks to the dreamer that is inside all of us. Necklaces comprised of wings, flowers, miniature books of poems, and stars. Reminiscent of one of my favorite fashion icons ever - Stevie Nicks. She is the quintessential California girl and undisputed jewelry layering queen. A gypsy and a poet - a lover and a dreamer. Who wouldn't want to live in Stevie's world, which is full of lace and paper flowers, with mirrors in the sky and bells in the night?

JP and M2M Collaboration by Meliss

Today in celebration of International Women's Day we are releasing a special collection featuring poetry about resiliency and courage. 50% of the proceeds from these pieces will go to Mountain2Mountain, a non profit organization working to provide education and opportunity for women and girls in war-torn Afghanistan.

When Shannon Galpin, the founder of M2M, contacted me about collaborating I felt incredibly honored. She is an inspiring woman who is doing important and wonderful work. Again, I am so honored and to create these special pieces for M2M and to be asked to be part of this cause.
Below is Shannon's Huffington Post blog telling her story and how we came to meet.



Talisman. def: an object held to act as a charm, avert evil and bring good fortune

My talisman is a silver ring that I've had for several years. It's now scratched and has a small dent but I wear it every day because of the words inscribed upon the silver.

Words have power. We use them to express feeling and invoke emotion. Words can rally the masses, rage against injustice and soothe a broken heart. Time and time again, we return to familiar passages, quotes and phrases to remind us of how others described what we have felt.

I am a lover of the power of words. I surround myself with quotes from Churchill, poetry from Hafiz and the words of great orators, philosophers and writers to inspire and push me forward.

Several years ago my family gave me the silver ring that has become my talisman - a piece from San Francisco designer, Jeanine Payer. The inscription by Longfellow reads, "the lowest ebb is at the turn of the tide."

They gave it to me to remind me to be strong, follow my heart and believe that the tide would one day turn. I had recently cashed in all of my meager personal funds to launch a nonprofit called Mountain2Mountain, an organization dedicated to empowering the women and children of Afghanistan. I had a two-year-old daughter and I was taking a huge personal risk. Nevertheless, I decided to set the best possible example for my daughter by investing in the belief that I could build a sustainable organization that could benefit women and girls for generations to come. I've never looked back.

There is an unusual strength that comes from wearing the words that inspire us. The power of words in a tangible form, present on our bodies, is like a whisper in your ear, "be strong, be brave, don't give up".

Jewelry is not the first thing anyone would normally reach for when selecting an appropriate wardrobe to take to a war zone. But it has been for me. I've worn that ring on every trip to Afghanistan. Jeanine didn't know it at the time, but she was with me through multiple trips, under burqas in Kandahar, sleeping in village homes, and inside women's prisons. She rode a buzkashi horse, fished in the Panjshir river, and was there when I became the first woman to mountain bike in Afghanistan. She has survived suicide bombs and gun attacks. Her ring and those words have protected and inspired me through it all.

The ring has been a constant reminder that the turn of the tide is always coming, wave after wave, day after day. Today the ring is criss-crossed with scratches and has a small dent, but even that reminds me of everything I have accomplished, with Mountain2Mountain, and as a mother.

It's always with me, not like a lucky pair of socks, but as a powerful amulet bestowing courage and hope even in the darkest of times. Its words inspire my next steps, linking my future actions to the words I wear.

A few years ago, on my birthday, my parents gave me a pair of Jeanine's earrings. "I dwell in possibility," they say. While I don't wear them as often, I smile every time I slide them on. Every time I wear them, I dwell in possibility. They remind me that everything and anything is possible if I am willing to forge ahead.

A few months ago I reached out to Jeannie to share the story of my ring and thank her for all it's meant to me. I asked if she understood the power of her designs and the inscriptions. She sent me a link from People magazine that talked about the power of words and talismans. She is keenly aware that aware that words can spark change and inspire courage.

In honor of the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day, Jeanine has agreed to collaborate with me on five pieces of jewelry to benefit Mountain2Mountain's work to create gender equity and girls' education in Afghanistan. She has designed five beautiful pieces that are powerful representations of the courage of women all around the world. Her designs are inscribed with these words:

"Courage, strength, and hope possess my soul...I will stand firmly and without fear." - Goethe

"When its dark, you can see the stars" - Persian proverb

...and, in honor of the power of my own talisman, she has reintroduced the Longfellow quote from the ring she designed several years ago. The one I wear:

"The lowest ebb is at the turn of the tide"

It is my sincere hope that our collaboration, the power of these words, and the proceeds that go to help us empower more women and girls in Afghanistan will help lead to a turning of the tide in women's rights all around the world.

Take a look. Wear the words. Stand firm, and dwell in the possible.

--Shannon Galpin

Personal Appearance & Trunk Show in Berkeley

Tiara with Caterpillars and Pearls

This tiara doesn't have poetry but if it did it might be this:

I will look at cliffs and clouds
With quiet eyes,
Watch the wind bow down the grass,
And the grass rise.

-Edna St. Vincent Millay

Lover's Eye

Be stirring as the time; be fire with fire- -Shakespeare

I was going for something sculptural when I made this so I headed down to the Legion of Honor for some inspiration. After posting the drawing of eyes from my sketch book, a client called and told us about the Lover's Eye. How did I miss these treasures all these years?

"While off fighting the Revolutionary War in America, George IV's lover gave him a locket with a miniature painting of her eye; her anonymity was preserved while eye contact was maintained." Genius.

Fewer than 1,000 were ever produced of these hand painted Georgian miniatures. They were painted by miniaturists onto ivory and sometimes velum. If they were encircled by pearls they were remembrance pieces.


They were made for the courts and affluent households of England, Russia, France and on rare occasion for America.

Instead of Evil Eye, I decided to name our piece Lover's Eye. It has a way of holding our attention that is haunting, mysterious and at the same time feels protective...