As you know, almost every one of my pieces is inspired by a place we've been to and loved or want to travel to someday, and these earrings are no different. The backstory is a little longer than most...
In the 1950s, John and Arlene W. made a decision that would shape generations to come. They bought a small gingerbread cottage tucked away in the Laurel Highlands of Western Pennsylvania.
With its creaky wooden swing and screened-in eating porch, it sat alongside 86 others, forming a hidden community at the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains. Removed from the pace of modern life, it was a quiet sanctuary and the perfect place to spend their summers.
I never had the chance to meet John and Arlene. They passed long before I met my husband, Mike, their grandson. Yet, their purchase became more than just a summer home; it became a family legacy. This legacy inspired others in the family, including us, to purchase our own corner of this magical place.
For over a decade, we’ve wandered this country in our RV, exploring cities and small towns, remote wildernesses, beaches, islands, and mountains. But nowhere, in all of our travels, have we found a place as magical and soul-stirring as this small community.
Words fall short in describing its essence—it’s a place where time, modernization and social expectation don’t exist. A place where you can truly just be.
If there was a soundtrack for this place, it would begin with the soulful vibrato of the cello and end with the nostalgic notes of bagpipes. The music would carry the history and beauty of this land, winding through forested ridges, waterfalls, and mountain streams. It’s poetry in its purest, most tangible form, and we are incredibly blessed to call this little slice of heaven our summer home.
These earrings remind me of this place. They evoke memories of hillsides draped in ferns and mountain laurel, of a world where birds and wildlife become part of our everyday life, and where friendships deepen year after year, creating a circle of kindred spirits.
If you read this, we are connected. If you dove in, and felt it in your soul, we are the same. We are both living a human experience, craving something real and beautiful. I hope you have a place like this in your experience. A place that you feel whole and you can truly call home. Laurel Highlands is that place for me.