Prosecco and Pearls

Friends,

I had one of those ECSTATIC SHOPPING EXPERIENCES last week -- the kind that connected me more deeply to all of my senses (including my senses of wonder and well-being)...not to mention to the most amazing place, people, prosecco and pearls....

Bianca Zoie’s Pearls and Prosecco event took place at Pulse Restaurant, on the third floor of the Sports Club/LA, overlooking Rock Center and the skating rink and invigorated by the sight and sound of huge flags snapping in the brisk wind.

We sipped crisp Mionetto, Sergio and Il proseccos before and during Chef Jake Klein’s delicious dinner -- potato-leek soup, truffle-flecked risotto, fresh fruit with dark dipping chocolate.

Meantime, with the poise of a high priestess and the warmth of a best friend, designer Bianca Zoie shed light on her pearl and silver-based jewelry lines -- among them the brightly colored “Wildflowers,” transcendent “Points of Light,” delicate “Bridal Blessings,” exquisitely detailed “Miracle Boxes” and “Prayer Beads.”

For Bianca, the designs are a way of celebrating life in times of joy and of overcoming adversity in times of sadness. After recovering from a car accident and suffering a lightning fire in her rural Connecticut Studio just one year ago, Bianca's creative spirit -- with the emphasis on both creative and spirit -- has been reborn.

And it seems only fitting that her Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian pearl suppliers and silversmiths consider her an intuitive master of wabi-sabi -- the Zen/Oriental practice of creating intimate, authentic art from a reflective, soulful place.

Beyond just being magnificent, Bianca’s jewelry is imbued and suffused with meaning and spirit. It looks and feels fresh, sexy, silky, loving and alive...because, like her, IT IS!