July 2020
I pierced my ears rather late in life (I was in my 30s), but since then I’ve been making up for lost time by collecting earrings as my souvenir of choice while traveling. They’re small, not expensive, and whenever I wear them I have great memories of where and when they were purchased. Daily through July, I’m posting photos of samples from my collection, in a more or less haphazard organization.
July 1: New Orleans, LA: I bought these fun mask earrings in a shop in the French Quarter, during my first (and so far only) visit to the Big Easy, for the 1988 Worldcon.
July 2: Glastonbury, England: I purchased this Celtic-themed pair in a local shop during my travels around southwest England in 1986 (mostly exploring stone circles and ruined castles, and wandering around cathedrals and stately homes).
July 3: Taipei, Taiwan: These are from the National Palace Museum gift shop, purchased during a brief visit to Taipei in 2009. The design is silver inlaid with malachite, in a cloud motif adapted from a fang-hu (bronze wine vessel) from the Warring States period (5th–3rd c BCE) in the museum’s collection.
July 4: Denver, CO: This colorful threaded pair was commissioned in 1984 from a vendor at the Colorado Renaissance Faire to match my “Airs of Sea and Fire” costume for Costume Con 3.
July 5: Seville, Spain: Silver filagree hoops, bought in a shop in the Old Town district (2011, probably sometime between visiting the Turkish baths and dining on happy hour tapas)
July 6: Kona, HI: I bought these at a roadside stand near Kona on the Big Island, but they were made from kahelelani shells found only on Ni’ihau, a private island not accessible to visitors, where the traditional Hawaiian language and cultural traditions are kept alive.
July 7: Ulaanbaator, Mongolia: Souvenir shopping in this capital city is centered within the seven floors of the State Department Store, where I found these lovely silver earrings in 2007.
July 8: Istambul, Turkey: These unique SF Giants-colored evil eye earrings are from the Egyptian Spice Bazaar in the historic Fatih district. I wore them every day of my trip after their purchase, which ensured my hometown team’s post-season success and World Series victory in 2014.
July 9: Cienfuegos, Cuba: A full set (earrings, bracelet, necklace) in mother of pearl and ceramic, bought in 2012 from a charming local artisan at one of the craft stalls lining the Parque Jose Martí
July 10: Honolulu, HI: This design is based on the nickel-plated panels, ordered from the New York firm of Hopkins and Dickenson in 1881, that conceal the screws for door hinges in Iolani Palace. I bought these during one of my return visits to O’ahu (early 2000’s) when I took the palace tour; when I lived there in the ’70s the building was occupied by Steve McGarrett and Danny Williams.
July 11: Stonehenge, England: Tiny silver standing stones to celebrate a whirlwind stop on our way from Cornwell, via London, to the Tolkien 2005: The Ring Goes Ever On conference in Birmingham
July 12: Sydney, Australia: On my first trip to Australia (in 1980–81, during the Christmas holidays), naturally I bought opals. (On my second trip, we concentrated more on drinking wine … )
July 13: Scottsdale, AZ: Copper earrings depicting Kokopelli, a fertility god, trickster, healer, musician, and storyteller sacred to many Southwestern Native American traditions. I picked these up in 2015 during a spring training trip with my friend Debbie; we loved strolling around the Scottsdale shops, bars, and wonderful restaurants after watching Giants baseball.
July 14: Mt. Aetna, Sicily: silver and black lava from Mt. Aetna, bought from a shop in the visitor center on the volcano (which, incidentally, was erupting during our Sicily tour), 2016
July 15: Oxford, England: With JRR Tolkien’s Device for Lúthien Tinúviel design, these ceramic drop earrings were a gift from my friend Carl, purchased at the 2018 Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth exhibit at the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries.
July 16: Ashland, OR: I was lucky enough to make several visits to Ashland for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival while my talented cousins Richard and Suzanne were members of the acting troupe. These were bought in the gift shop (sometime in the 1990s): the classic theatrical “tragedy and comedy” masks in silver.
July 17: Shanghai, China: After a 2010 teaching gig in Wuhan, we visited Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) and Jiuhuashan (Nine Lotus Mountain) on our way to Shanghai, where I purchased these red bead earrings in the Shanghai Museum shop.
July 18: Newgrange, Ireland: During my 2018 Ireland trip, I booked a day tour from Dublin to the Brú na Bóinne complex in the Boyne Valley to visit the Hill of Tara and the Neolithic monument of Newgrange. Older than Stonehenge and the pyramids of Egypt, this ancient temple was a place of astrological, spiritual, religious, and ceremonial importance in the local Stone Age culture, and remains a site of enormous majesty and power today. These earrings incorporate Connemara marble (unique to Ireland) and spiral designs used in the Megalithic art carved into the greywacke stone blocks.
July 19: Albuquerque, NM: While visiting a friend in the summer of 2011, I spent some time scouring downtown jewelry shops to find these locally-made turquoise, coral, onyx, and silver demi-hoops.
July 20: Mexico City, Mexico: These festive Day of the Dead Papier-mâché earrings were a gift from my friend Arden, and purchased from the Museo de Arte Popular in Mexico City.
July 21: Aswan, Egypt: Hand-made Eye of Horus silver and lapis earrings purchased in the Old Cataract Hotel lobby shop (an excellent source of quality gold and silver jewelry), 2019
July 22: Honolulu, HI: These black coral, diamond and gold earrings (with matching pendant) are the most valuable pieces of jewelry I own. My friend Steve worked for Maui Divers as an accountant, and, on a return visit to the Islands around 1990, I took the factory tour while waiting for him to get off work. Fun fact: be wary of showrooms where they serve you champagne while you browse. But I have no regrets.
July 23: Rome, Italy: These charming glass moon and stars earrings were purchased in a small shop while Susie and I were exploring the fascinating and somewhat less touristy Trastavere district in 2016.
July 24: Baltimore, MD: Adapted from a 7th century Langobard earring design, these replicas from the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore are cast in brass electroplated with 24 carat gold and decorated with red enamel. (Thanks, Carl!)
July 25: Lihue, HI: During our Sammath Naur (that’s the Hawaii Mythopoeic Society discussion group) 40th anniversary reunion get-together on Kauai, I bought these local red coral bead earrings made by the owner of a small shop outside Lihue.
July 26: Izmir, Turkey: On our last day in Turkey in 2014, Susie and I wandered around Konak Square and stumbled upon the “Everything Evil Eye” shop (that’s not the name of the shop) where I picked up these evil eye earrings in the more traditional blue color, as well as a bunch of souvenirs to bring luck to my friends back home.
July 27: San Francisco, CA: I was intrigued and amused to find these earrings made from office window glass, from a sidewalk vendor on Market Street. I picked these up on my way home from work downtown, sometime in the early ’90s.
July 28: Dublin, Ireland: After exploring the Long Gallery and peeking at the Book of Kells (which I had last seen at the Metropolitan Museum in 1977), I picked up these enamel earrings in the gift shop as a souvenir of Dublin and its rich literary history.
July 29: Honokaa, HI: Debby and I spent a week wandering the Big Island after the 2000 Mythcon at the edge of Kilauea Volcano, and I bought these Polynesian outrigger canoe earrings carved from koa in one of the small shops along the road from Hilo to Waipio Valley.
July 30: Cloud City, Bespin: I won these beskar-molded replicas of the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy in a sabac game at the Pair O’Dice casino.
July 31: Bonus: Max and Norbert Neiger were Czechoslavakian jewelry designers whose Egyptian Revival creations were all the rage in the 1920s and ’30s. These green scarab beads were probably originally part of a necklace or sautoir, and were repurposed into earrings by a British artisan (from whom I bought them). They were an essential part of my accessory collection for our 2019 Vintage Nile trip.