Design Inspiration: Our new Ancora Charm Catcher

Allow yourself to be an anchor, and anchored by others.

Patti shares some some thoughts on the not-so-heavy anchors of her life. This past summer, I spent some time crossing the Santa Barbara channel with my family (and a few friends), and living on our brave little boat for several days. I am usually inspired by the sea, but this time, more profoundly: my 4 year old daughter was with us, and much of the trip was seen through her eyes (What lies beneath? The stars above. The ANCHOR!). Yes, Lulu was enthralled with watching dad drop and lift the anchor, and the whole concept of anchoring in general.Heavy. Chained. Necessary. Life-saving.

Upon return to (wobbly at first, now stable as it should be) ground, I began working with the iconic anchor shape as the basis for a new charm catcher. Having always loved the lines of the anchor, and the iron-forged fabrication (and the important place it takes in sea travel... which is such a metaphor for life itself...) the design revealed itself. These things are graceful despite their weight. And SOLID (and meant to go deep). Yes, this needs to be imagined to hold markers of my ( and other's) journey.

I sketched out a simple, knife-edged design, with a hinged-arm mechanism to hold the charms in place. The original mechanism was eventually replaced but an even more effortless and lovely swinging arm. I loved it the minute we got it back from casting, and could not stop playing with it. It feels good and is perfectly analog and mechanical in a warm, useful way.It is a reminder of that life on the sea, which is Life itself: the unknown, the magical, the sublime, made available to us by slowing down; the exhilarating, shown to us by making the effort and responding to nature; and the true, by surrounding ourselves with the reality of what we cherish and love.

And it is also an homage to that beautiful, utilitarian hand-made object that keeps us tethered, so that we can go deeper and explore ourselves.

I am thrilled to add this piece to our collection on January 27th, and can't wait to see what you do with it.

Here's to your most thrilling journey... With ahoy!

Xo Patti