Have a heart.

I have fallen in love with a piece of jewelry. With an entire collection of jewelry really. Fine, with Ludevine altogether, but most specifically with the human heart locket from the Sempt collection. It's a love bordering on obsession, and it's a heartbreak that I can't have the object of my desire. Below is a multimedia shrine to the golden heartthrob itself. Enjoy... see if it captures yours. 

SEMPT from Samy Jo on Vimeo.

I don't know why I'm so taken by the piece (I'd have it in gold, obviously) but I think it has something to do with the poetry of it. The adornment of the body with the body maybe, or the quirkily gothic romance of its compartments. I could go on, but I'll spare you, instead let me tell you why it's easy to love Ludevine altogether. 


Ludevine is jewelry born from introspection. The three existing lines, Primitive, Sempt, and Peak were created as independent explorations by designer Shahla Kareen (talk about an envy-worthy name!) Ludevine's Primitive, a Gen Art article, "Fresh Faces: Ludevine," reports, "pays tribute to French philosopher Lucien Levy-Bruhl's mystical participation philosophy wherein all primitive minds have an unconscious or even psychic kindred connection to the souls of other persons, animals, or objects, and that the primitive mind does not differentiate the supernatural from reality." The collection is handmade from natural materials varying from gold to fossils to black bear molars. 


As with most things I love, Ludevine celebrates both life and death, and that celebration is perhaps most evident in Sempt, the predominantly solid gold collection. As Kareen's website puts it, "The Sempt collection is an hommage to some of nature's most curious pieces." From the heart's compartments to the chakras of the skull, Ludevine accomplishes introspection with absolute elegance. 


Peak, Ludevine's most recent collection, is no different. Every piece in the collection can be worn in a variety of ways and converted from ring to necklace to earring, playing on Kareen's preoccupation with infinite existence and symbology. 


Are you in love yet? If not, check out the website for yourself, not only is the jewelry itself captivating, but Kareen gives you the opportunity to be inspired by the things that inspire her in the storybook section of the site.