It is the middle of August and the garden is at its most gloriously chaotic. The goldenrod has gone tall and wild. The bees are everywhere, absolutely everywhere, moving from flower to flower with the focused urgency of creatures who know exactly how much work is left before the cold comes. And in the middle of all of it, the coneflowers stand. Tall and unhurried and completely unbothered, their spiky centers lifted toward the sky, hosting what appears to be every pollinator in a three mile radius. They have been doing this for a very long time and they are extraordinarily good at it.
The Echinacea
The name echinacea comes from the Greek word echinos, meaning hedgehog, which is quite possibly the best way anyone has ever named a plant. Look at that spiky cone-shaped center and tell me that is not exactly right.
Echinacea belongs to the daisy family and is one of the most important native wildflowers in the North American landscape. Its relationships with native pollinators run deep. Bumblebees, native sweat bees, and specialist bee species all rely on coneflowers for both nectar and pollen. The eastern purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea, is also one of the most widely used medicinal plants in North America, with a long history of use among Indigenous peoples and a well documented ability to support immune function, which is why you will find it in tinctures and teas and on the shelves of every herbalist worth knowing. Pretty, generous to pollinators, and genuinely useful when you feel a cold coming on. The coneflower is not here to play games.
The Piece
Two coneflowers grow across the face of this sterling silver vase, their hand carved petals sweeping back from those characteristic textured centers the way they do in a late summer garden when they have been in bloom long enough to relax into themselves. The background has been given a fine sandy texture that makes the flowers stand out in beautiful relief, all of it deepened with oxidation so the details read clearly. At the very top of the vase, tucked beside the flowers, a small rose cut purple amethyst catches the light, its color echoing the purple of the blooms above it. Amethyst is February's birthstone, which makes this a particularly lovely piece for anyone born in that month.
The back of the vase carries a real leaf impression pressed directly into the silver, and Max the cat, my maker's mark, lives at the top. Every piece that leaves my studio carries him with it.
Three small loops at the top hold the vase onto an 18 inch sterling silver rope chain, and the chain is removable if you ever want to wear it on a different length. At the base of the vase a cluster of small silver granules finishes the bottom edge like the most satisfying little period at the end of a sentence.
This vase is not meant to hold water, because water and sterling silver are not a happy combination and also you would get wet. What it is meant to hold is whatever small beautiful thing you find on a walk or in your garden or at the flower shop. A sprig of dried lavender. A fern frond. A stem of goldenrod. The vase is small and the possibilities are genuinely lovely.
The Craftsmanship
- Total pendant height including bail loops: approximately 2.75 inches
- Vase height: approximately 1.75 inches
- Width at widest point: approximately 1.25 inches
- Stone: rose cut purple amethyst
- Sterling silver throughout, oxidized
- 18 inch sterling silver rope chain, removable
- Real leaf impression on reverse
- Max the cat maker's mark on reverse
- One of a kind
One of a Kind
There is only one of this vase in the world. These two coneflowers, this amethyst, this particular leaf impression pressed into the back of the silver: they exist once. When this piece finds its home it will never be made again exactly like this.
A Note from Tamara
Coneflowers were one of the first native plants I ever grew on purpose, back when I was just beginning to understand why native plants matter and what we lose when we replace them with things that look pretty but feed nothing. Watching what happened in that first summer, the sheer volume of life that showed up the moment the echinacea bloomed, was one of those moments that changes how you see everything. I have grown them every year since. I made this vase because I wanted to carry a little of that August abundance around with me even in February. I hope it does the same for whoever wears it.
Shipping
Your echinacea vase is finished, packaged safely, and will be on its way to you within 3 to 5 business days.