Somewhere in the woods behind your home, there is a patch of wild bloodroot that takes your breath away every spring. You did not plant it. Nobody did. Antoinette did.
Meet Antoinette
Oftentimes the tiniest living beings make the biggest impact on the world around us. Antoinette the ant has always been keen on finding the seeds of spring ephemerals because of the delicious white appendage attached to them called an elaiosome, packed with fats and proteins that give her the energy to keep foraging for her family. She does not know that plants produce the elaiosome specifically to entice ants like her to carry their seeds away from the parent plant before other animals can eat and destroy them. Antoinette just knows it is delicious.
She does not want the seed itself, so she drops it somewhere out of the way or piles it up in her colony's little compost heap of no longer wanted plant material. And then something wonderful happens. The seed germinates. A new bloodroot plant grows exactly where Antoinette left it. A patch becomes a colony. A colony becomes the breathtaking sweep of white spring flowers you gasped at when it came into view.
That patch of bloodroot grew that way. Thanks to Antoinette and her family. This is myrmecochory, one of the most beautiful words in the natural world, and one of the most important relationships in the spring forest.
The Necklace
This pendant tells the complete story of the bloodroot plant from top to bottom in a single piece of jewelry. At the top the bloodroot flower opens its detailed white petals above the scalloped leaf where Antoinette sits, darkly oxidized so she stands out against the silver. Below the leaf the twisted stem reaches all the way down to the root, and hanging from the very bottom is a tiny seed, waiting to be found by the next Antoinette who comes along. From flower to root to seed, the entire lifecycle of one of the most extraordinary spring ephemerals captured in three inches of sterling silver.
Every single element was made entirely from scratch from melted sterling silver and shaped entirely by hand. Nothing in this piece was cast. The pendant comes on an 18 inch sterling silver chain which is removable if you would prefer a different length.
- Length: 3 inches from flower to seed
- Chain: 18 inch sterling silver, removable for different lengths
- Material: Sterling silver throughout
Looking for a Brooch Instead?
Antoinette's companion Aurelia was made at the same time and features the same bloodroot and ant story in brooch form. If you would rather pin your love of spring ephemerals to your lapel than wear it around your neck, Aurelia might be exactly the right choice for you. Both pieces were made together but every element of each was formed individually from melted silver, making them companions rather than copies.
One of a Kind
There is only one Antoinette in the world. When she finds her home she will never be made again exactly like this.
A Note from Tamara
I made Antoinette because I wanted to celebrate something most people never think about. Every beautiful patch of wildflowers you have ever stopped to admire exists because of tiny creatures doing quiet and essential work that nobody notices. Antoinette is my small way of saying thank you to all the ants who have been planting the forest long before any of us were here to appreciate it. I hope she brings that same sense of wonder and gratitude into your world.
Shipping
Antoinette and her bloodroot are finished, tucked into a gift box, and will be on their way to you within 3 to 5 business days.