State Quarter Necklace

admin — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 23:18:00 +0000

Readers, Wabisabi Brooklyn’s State Quarter Necklace has got me feeling conflicted. You see, I've always had a fondness for small acts of rebellion: sneaking a few beers as a teenager, slapping "this is offensive to women" stickers on public advertisements, getting it on in the coed bathroom at an indie rock show. I know these things aren't going to change the world, but a little transgression makes for funny stories and hours of mischievous entertainment. So you'd think I'd be down with a necklace that is evidence of a minor crime against the U.S. Treasury—and yeah, for the most part, I am.

Having drilled two small holes through the quarter on either side of Colorado, Wabisabi designer MaryAnne LoVerme affixes an 18-inch copper chain to the coin, which positions it just below the sternal notch. A tiny gold star and company stamp are attached to the chain near the lobster claw clasp, which increases the ease with which the necklace can be put on or removed.

As the company's name, according to LoVerme, means "beauty of imperfection" in Japanese, the silver-copper color contrast perfectly suits her design aesthetic. LoVerme says she works with coins in order to "imbue jewelry with an element of chance and luck," and luck is something she'd better have on her side on the off-chance that the secret service takes issue with her creative liberties. Those folks don't mess around:

Whoever mutilates, cuts, disfigures, perforates, unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, Federal Reserve Bank, or Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such item(s) unfit to be reissued, shall be fined not more than $100 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

This necklace is cute, but it ain't $100 or six months in jail cute.

Another thing that isn't cute about this necklace is wearing it where I live: India. While twenty-five cents doesn't get you more than a Ring Pop or a Wacky Wall Walker in the States, on the streets of Kolkata I can get a kati roll and a cup of cha with that loot. I could buy two kilos of aloo or 500ml of Amul dahi. And the thought of wearing a symbol of American economic imperialism around my neck in a place where millions are starving... well, let's just say I won't be wearing this chain around my neck until I'm back on US soil. For those who aren't in my same situation, feel free to show your state pride or the upside down profile of George Washington by visiting Wabisabi Brooklyn. LoVerme may even throw in a free gift; I got a Goumet Scented Pencil made from recycled newspapers that smells like Black Cherry. I think I'll give it to one of the schoolgirls who lives in my building.

Editor's Comment: No more comments will be allowed on this post, as it has become a playground for a group of etsy/indie designer bullies who would like to turn Elevate Difference into a site for some ridiculous and contrived vendetta against one of our writers simply because she expressed a political sentiment they disagree with (or, more entertaining, who they see as having participated in a conspiratorial plot against Wabisabi). Much of the information being circulated in the etsy/designer realm of the blogosphere about the way this review came about is inaccurate—such as the claim that this necklace was sent by the designer to India at her own cost, which it untrue as the necklace was requested by an ED Editor and sent to ED's office in Georgia, not the writer directly. This can be verified by asking MaryAnne LoVerme at Wabisabi. I shouldn't have to remind grown adults about the import of information being based in fact, not speculation and blatant falsehoods. We have published several reviews that are less than favorable (some written in a far more caustic manner) for a given product, but this type of overblown response that some people are demonstrating is quite rare, I can assure you. Probably because most people recognize that throwing tantrums in public isn't good for their own business. Well, unless you're Glenn Beck or someone who makes a living on that sort of thing. Either way, the ganging up of anti-feminist trolls who perpetuate oppressive myths about catfighting and female irrationality is in direct opposition to the mission of Feminist Review, and only serves to make women in general and etsy and indie designers in specific look foolish, so it will not be allowed to continue on this blog.

Written by: Mandy Van Deven, August 9th 2009