Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Jewelry Box Tour 5 || Brenna Dougan


1Your name, s’il vous plait Brenna Dougan*

* I met Brenna on the first day of Kindergarten. She was feisty and she had a sweet perm! I thought to myself, "I should stick with this girl!" So we became friends and have been BFF's ever since. The photo of the kids in rollerskates in this post is us! You can read more about us in this post.
 
 2| Where do you live? Washington, D.C.

3| What do you do during the day and at night? During the day I work on international labor issues. Basically, I monitor the enforcement of labor laws in the countries with which the United States has trade agreements and trade preference programs.

4| What do you look for in a piece of jewelry? What are you drawn to? I like unique, tasteful pieces; something that can be worn to the office or worn out but that is not too flashy or too run-of-the-mill.


5| Tell me about the jewelry you wear the most. Is there something that you never take off? I wear a pair of sterling silver hoop earrings several times a week. They are full hoops and close behind the earlobe with a little bar that slips into place. They are just the right size: not too big, not too small, and the silver is beautiful.

6| What is your jewelry weakness? My weakness is jewelry from places to which I travel. That is, it it's very hard for me to roll into a big-box store and buy jewelry. I want my jewelry to have a connection to a time and a place.

  

7| What’s the last piece of jewelry you added to your box? My latest piece is a pair of off-white lace earrings from Tree and Kimball that are absolutely to die for and look stunning when paired with a strapless black dress and strappy sandals.

8| Please tell me a great story about a piece or two in your collection: Well, I'm including photos of two things: a necklace made from a bullhorn from Guatemala, which I bargained my butt off to get, and I've never seen another piece like it in Guatemala or anywhere else, and the brooch that was my great-grandmother's and has my initials.

A great story? When I was an undergrad one of my numerous odd-jobs was to drive a shuttle from Iowa State University to the Des Moines airport for conferences. That is, I would work with conference services to find out when conference attendees were to arrive to the airport and I would drive down and pick them up and drive them to their hotel at the university. During one conference, there were two men from China who had a 5:30 AM flight from Des Moines. I had to pick them up at their hotel at 3:00 AM to make sure they made it to the airport on time. They were so appreciative of the fact that I picked them up so early that when I dropped them off they gave me a necklace of delicate, floral-patterned beads, a matching bracelet and two packs of gold-foil-embossed Chinese cigarettes. They told me that the jewelry and cigarettes were 'typical' pieces from China. That was many years ago but I still take the necklace and the beads with me everywhere I move.



9| If price was not an issue, what piece of jewelry would you give to your best friend? I would get her several strands of Coco Chanel's pearls so she could mix and match them with other lovely and classic pieces.

{This is the last interview in the five-part Jewelry Snooping Series! If you commented on each post throughout the month, you are in the running to win a $50 gift certificate to the shop. I'll announce the winner on Monday, December 5th here on the blog. Thank you for reading!}

22 comments:

Jacqueline said...

What an amazing woman! Thanks for sharing, Duff and Brenna.

plainsarah said...

I am going to miss the jewelry box snooping series. I always stop to read a new post! Thank you Duff & Brenna!

Anonymous said...

wonderful post and story about the two men from China! so sad to see this weekly series end! this sure has been a treat! vintage whisper, ann

Marcia said...

BFFs!!! Love the initial pin.
Please post more of this fun jewelry box series. It was so fun!

olygirl said...

That bull horn necklace is stunning. Thanks again for this fun series. It has been very enjoyable to read. :)

No Carnations said...

What an interesting gal! How lucky you are to have her in your life. I too will miss this series. Can we do this again sometime?

Leslie W said...

This has been so fun to read each week! I think you should continue with these interviews, it's fun to read and we're all getting to see some interesting jewelery. I too am going to miss this series!

mosquints@yahoo(DOT)com

linda l said...

A great interview, I love hearing the thoughts of others!

ashley said...

I like Brenna's trinket box and bangles :) love all 5 interviews !

Wild Tea Party said...

The brooch with the initials - too sweet! I wish I had something like that. So lovely to read a little more about your BFF too Duff.

And agreed, you definitely need to do more of these jewelery box tours, I'm loving them.

Marguerite said...

I love the story about the gift from the Chinese gentlemen. As a teenager while living overseas, I "earned" a single white pearl necklace, for taking care of 5 dogs for a week. A simple thing, but, like Ms. Dougan -- it goes everywhere with me. I haven't thought of it in years as I have so many newer things from my husband, I don't wear it. I need to pull it out and show my daughter -- it is still in its beautiful velvet box. She might really enjoy it!

This series has been wonderful. Please stay with it -- who knows -- a book, someday!!

Erin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ashhlet said...

Oops, accidentally used my sis account! .Love all interviews thanks :)

steph.kelley said...

What a heartwarming story about Chinese gift-giving. And I love a gal who plans a black-tie outfit around a set of earrings! Hmmm now I need an excuse to dress up.... XOXOX

Francesca _Syrah said...

"I want my jewelry to have a connection to a time and a place." ...for me is the same! even if i couldn't know the stories behind each one of my jewelry pieces, for me it's important to know that they come from a previous story and they are worn and loved by someone somewhere... being part of someone else's lives before becoming mine.
(i would like to read a new interview next wednesday!!!! kisses)

Bettina said...

The story about the two Chinese men is lovely. :))

Anonymous said...

A wonderful post to finish off the series!
Brenna's great grandmother's brooch is a real treasure. :)

Petites Merveilles said...

Im so sad that the series is finished! On another note, I love that brooch!

alexis said...

I once received a little handmade beaded bracelet from a student I had, I too cherish it and bring it in my little purse everywhere I go. Thanks for all five lovely interviews, hope to see more soon!

rebecca s. said...

i love her chinese businessmen story! i also agree about jewelry having a time and a place and have never purchased any at a big box store either...

this series was great! i hope you will do it again sometime.

Liane said...

I'm sad that the series has come to an end. This was so much fun! I'd love to see more. It was nice getting to know a bit about your friends and to peek at their jewelry. I think it's wonderful that you and Brenna have remained friends for so long! I've never seen anything like that Guatemalan necklace. Very cool. I also enjoyed the story about the Chinese businessman. Kindness abounds.

jhitomi said...

Shoot, I came upon your blog too late for me to enter for the giveaway. But anyway, just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed reading the interviews; they were fun to read and informative. I love vintage, thus I love anyone who loves vintage!

jhbalvin at gmail dot com

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