EAST CAMP PORTRAITS
Meet the dynamic women and men wearing East Camp jewelry - working hard and living with love.
Photographs by Jersey Walz
Sarah Suarez
What do you do for work?
I own a small restaurant in Germantown, NY. [GASKINS]
What kinds of things do you do while wearing your East Camp Goods jewelry?
I work on the floor at Gaskins, helping guests and supporting my staff. I also lend a hand to a cause I care about by pouring wine, manning tables, or holding placards in support of Planned Parenthood at various fundraising events and rallies. I take walks with my 6 month old son Milo and our dog Scout. I play rummy and drink wine with my husband Nick, while Milo (hopefully) snoozes. I spend as much time as I can with my community of female friends, who make my life so much more vibrant.
What is the story or meaning behind your East Camp Goods jewelry?
Both of my East Camp Goods items were gifts to myself. Jenna was making boob bangles and donating proceeds to Planned Parenthood, so I had to buy one so I could rock it while working the floor at Rivertown Lodge for our Ladies Choice fundraiser where we raised over 15K in one night for Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood. I also bought a tiny gold disc stud for my second ear hole after my son Milo was born. It felt nice to treat myself to something during a time that is otherwise so focused on this other new person.
Tell me a short story or fact about yourself that makes you feel like a strong woman!
In 4 years I left my amazing job in NYC, married the sweetest man on the planet, moved to the Hudson Valley, bought a building, opened a successful restaurant and had a baby! Phew. I am tired just writing that out.
Gwenaelle Chabaud Benoliel
What is the story or meaning behind your East Camp Goods jewelry?
My “cut and peel” ring symbolizes something that is at the same time very strong and somehow malleable. This strong metal with a big cut that makes it more beautiful and more interesting. I especially like that the peeled piece is still attached to the ring, not removed ; the scar shows. And underneath that peeled back piece of strong metal is my skin. That makes the ring very sensual in a raw and rough way.
To me that is a good metaphor to becoming a mother. It showed me how strong I was while opening up a space to reveal deeper layers of myself. I learned that children put you face to face with who you really are.
The black diamond ring is also a motherhood related ring. I wear it, with a few of my closest friends, to remind me of my tribe of outstanding mothers and women and the source of inspiration they are. It makes me feel part of that universal sisterhood that is motherhood. I find myself looking at it, even fidgeting with it, throughout the day, to absorb some of the strength that lies in the feeling of shared experiences with other mothers. So it is a ring to celebrate being united and being part of that crazy adventure that is raising little humans.
Tourmaline is October’s birthstone and both my husband and I are born in October. Peridot is for August which is our anniversary month and our son’s birthday. I wear those three rings as a stack in that specific order and all together they represent the people and things I am the most grateful for in life.
Tell me a short story or fact about yourself that makes you feel like a strong woman!
Aside from my body making milk for the last 28 months, I would say that what makes me feel like a strong woman is how resilient I am. I have been thrown a few curveballs in my life and yet here I am, happy, loving, loved. Also, give me an hour kid-free and the amount of stuff I can accomplish and the pace I can move at are pretty amazing. That makes me think I might have super-powers, like all the moms out there!
How do you currently identify your daily doings?
I do a lot of lego constructions these days, read many children’s books or the same book over and over again (mostly books about construction sites), pretend to be an excavator or a dump truck, cook, clean, wipe, console, nurse, navigate complex emotions...and then repeat. In one word, I am a full time mom. Once in a while, I teach Pilates and it feels like a vacation. I get to tell people what to do with their bodies and they actually listen to me and do it! You don’t get that with toddlers.
I love that I can do all those things while wearing those beautiful rings. They are so elegant and refined yet subtle and discrete enough so they can be worn all day. The fact that I know how they were made and the person who made them gives them extra special meaning.
Corinna Borden Parker
What is the story or meaning behind your East Camp Goods jewelry?
My husband and I have discussed for many years a ring to augment my wedding rings. A ring to celebrate life (I am a cancer survivor). A ring to celebrate our 12 years of marriage. A ring to celebrate our children and the gratitude I feel for them.
I am not the same person I was when we got married and I wanted something unusual and unique to complement my wedding bands. The choice of hammered 22 karat gold and black diamonds is almost the exact opposite of my platinum diamond infinity bands. That pairing of opposites I found very enticing - the both and not either of life.
The ring itself is elegant, strong, and intense. It glows on my finger like the sun.
How do you currently identify your daily doings?
I am the momma metronome for my 3 1/2 yr old daughter and 6mo old son and the chief enthusiasm officer for our homestead of chickens, sheep, and permaculture plantings (edible and otherwise).
What kinds of things do you do while wearing your East Camp Goods jewelry?
I harvest comfrey to feed the chickens, brush hair, draw with crayons, hang laundry, tickle knees, change diapers, read stories, chop vegetables, snuggle, stack firewood, and scratch sheep.
Tell me a short story or fact about yourself that makes you feel like a strong woman!
When I rowed in college, I broke a rib from pulling so hard on the oar.