Wear What When

New Song and Dance

The just-opened jewelry shop, River Song, in Madison Valley is story-book beautiful.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Oct 23, 2009 at 06:00AM1 Comments

River Song slideshow; it’ll hardly do the real thing justice but here goes…

View Slideshow » Illustration:

River Song slideshow; it’ll hardly do the real thing justice but here goes…

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Some of my favorite pieces are not on chains but on thin linen cords or locally made knubby, tactile cashmere rope.

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Although she works with a lot of gorgeous gems, there is also a strong element of Turkish gold in River’s collections. The pendants are custom-made to her designs and are cast here in Seattle.

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There’s a story behind all of them, including this lovely couple.

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The majority of the pieces are beautifully displayed on a custom-built table - a slice of a tree that seems to have been carried in straight from the forest …

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There are a few collections in the shop that are not River’s; one is this display of fired paper clay decorative spoons by the British artist Carol Farrow. They feel ancient and strangely functional … as if discovered on an archeological dig.

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Another collection: odd and imaginative ceramic wall “pillows” by a NY-based Czech artist named Stepanka. Those display trays on the forest-slice table were also made by her, and they’re also for sale.

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These would make great gifts; they feel super collectible and really timeless and place-less, in a wonderful way.

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River’s jewelry, and her shop, are earthy and current at the same time. Most of the pieces are small, and the details are subtle and quiet. It’s jewelry you want to collect and add to your other pieces, and layer infinitely for infinity.

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I’m really surprised that I made it outta the shop without one of these bags. They’re made from fairly traded saris by a UK artists, and they feel absolutely perfect in your hand. Doesn’t hurt that they’re also beautiful.

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The same artist makes mid-weight, all-season scarves.

That’s it: I’m starting a list of the most beautiful shops in town. If I had started it last week, there would’ve been three for-sures, but since I started it today, after visiting the just-opened jewelry shop River Song in Madison Valley, there are four.

River Song is the enterprise of River Burke, a jeweler and world traveler whose pieces have been for sale at places like Watson Kennedy, Liberty 123, and Stuhlberg’s for years.

Remember when there were two Veritables on one block of Madison? Burker’s brand new shop sits inside the vacated one. The space next door is being rebuilt for a dress making concern called Vian Hunter. Recession? What recession? With shops like Red Ticking, Istina, Rue de Lyon, and Apogee, life feels pretty beautiful and wide open on this little stretch.

Again, a lot of that feeling is due to the new neighbor. Burker’s work is delicate but imbued with a lot of meaning, and the shop has a quiet sense of treasure and handcrafted history. It comes from pieces she’s brought in - hers and the work of friends and those she’s met on her travels - but it’s also in the way she subtly merchandises and displays the necklaces, earrings, bracelets, porcelain, ceramics, paintings, and other art.

Part scientific study, part farmstead family room, part watercolored children’s book. From fire opals to ikat pillows to locally pressed apple cider to gorgeously meticulous zoological renderings of butterflies, there’s a lot to discover there, and it’s not just the gems that are precious.

I left with a tiny 24k gold vermeil protection talisman on a whisper thin linen cord and a couple dozen images in my camera. I couldn’t pass either up. If we meet on the street you’ll probably notice the necklace and that alone will send you straight to the shop. Until then, enjoy the slideshow here, and see if you don’t wander there on your own.