Mermaid Magic & a Blue Ribbon: My Over-the-Top Agricultural Fair Necklace

Last year, I entered one of my handmade necklaces in the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Fair for the very first time—and much to my delight, my Flower & Fruit Bounty Necklace won a blue ribbon.

Which was wonderful... except that apparently winning once meant I put a lot of pressure on myself to do it again.

So this year, I went completely over the top.

A Little Mermaid Magic

Over the last few years at our Charm Bar, we’ve been building quite a collection of whimsical, ocean-inspired elements. And this summer in particular, I became a little obsessed with fish.

We have fish carved from colorful gemstones and shell, and most recently tiny fish in gold and silver. Along the way, I’ve also collected gorgeous iridescent abalone shell, scallops and quahogs carved from mother of pearl, organic baroque pearls, starfish, Shiva shells and all sorts of other treasures from the sea.

After amassing this rather impressive collection of beachy bedazzlements, I felt compelled to bring them all together into one totally over-the-top, magical, mermaid-inspired showstopper.

The Agricultural Fair gave me the perfect excuse.

One of the things I love about creating a piece specifically for the Fair is that I don't have to think about designing a collection, reproducing a piece, or even whether it makes sense commercially. I can simply follow an idea and see how far I can take it.

And this time, I took it pretty far.

Layers Upon Layers of Ocean Treasures

The finished necklace features layers upon layers of pearls, shells and seafaring critters, with the embellishments becoming increasingly lush as they move toward the center.

The focal point is a beautiful fish hand-carved from labradorite, with a mother-of-pearl scallop dangling beneath it. On either side are large, puffed abalone beads with their incredible natural iridescence, followed by two additional carved fish—these in green fluorite—with slightly smaller scallop shells below.

From there, things get... abundant.

Clusters of pearls, shells, fish and other ocean-inspired charms fill the spaces between the beads. Toward the center, some sections hold as many as five additional dangles.

At one point, I had so many embellishments that there simply wasn't room for another gold ring on the necklace. I started attaching charms to other charms before attaching the whole cluster to the necklace.

That's when you know you've committed to the concept.

And tucked among all of those ocean treasures are a few tiny carved Martha’s Vineyards—little hidden gems that connect the whole piece back to the island that inspired it.

I finished the necklace with my signature gold vermeil charm-holder clasp, complete with my little wolf-howling-at-the-moon logo.

Back at the Fair

After last year's first-place win, I would be lying if I said I didn't really, really want another blue ribbon.

The problem with unexpectedly winning the first time you enter the Agricultural Fair is that the second time around, you suddenly have expectations!

So I challenged myself to make something even more elaborate, more detailed and more imaginative than last year's necklace. I wanted it to feel like an entire magical underwater world you could wear around your neck.

And I love the result.

It's extravagant. It's whimsical. It's filled with color, shimmer, movement and tiny surprises. It's part mermaid treasure, part Martha's Vineyard waters, and part culmination of all the ocean-inspired jewelry and materials I've fallen in love with this year.

And, to my absolute delight, I won first place. Again!

There is something especially meaningful about seeing a piece like this displayed in the Agricultural Hall alongside the quilts, paintings, photographs, flowers, vegetables, baked goods and creations of so many other talented people in our island community.

The Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Fair has been part of my summers since I first came to the island as a teenager. Last year, after decades of wandering through the exhibit hall admiring everyone else's creations, I finally became an entrant myself.

Now I suppose I have a new Fair tradition.

And after two blue ribbons in two years, I already know what I'm going to do to myself next August: wonder how on earth I'm going to top this one.

Want to dive into the ocean treasures that inspired my blue-ribbon necklace? Explore Treasures of the Sea, a collection of gemstone fish, pearls, shells and other seaside favorites that found their way into this year's piece.