Velvet Balls of Saba

On Saba, I got velvet balls.

Or velvet beads. (Not to be confused with the jade ball/bead/egg Gwyneth Paltrow suggests one put up her lady hole.)

Anyway, I have some new jewelry. All thanks to Saba jewelry artist Marie Petit.

My first day on Saba, Anne took me on a tour of Windwardside, one of four towns on the island. Nestled in a saddle, Windwardside benefits from enough flat-ish land to host a main thoroughfare, the island’s tourism office, a proper cemetery, multiple restaurants and bars, and museums of Saban and Dutch heritage.

Given that MTM and I are downsizing, more stuff is NOT what we need. Our money goes to experiences. But upon entering the Windwardside gift shop, I was lost. Marie Petit’s jewelry display cried out to me.

Specifically, her velvet ball necklace.

A week later, I made the mistake of trying it on. Which means I bought it. But I had no freaking idea what I owned.

Luckily, Anne knows everybody on Saba, like my father only she actually listens to other people talk. She and I ran into Marie Petit on the main drag.

We spent an hour following Marie through house, garden, and museum grounds on her seed tour of Saba.

Marie Petit is a Frenchwoman who lives on Saba most of the year. Her cottage across from the historical museum grounds is one of my favorites on the island. Wake to roosters and rabbits. Dramatic sea views. Enough level ground for a garden.

A self-taught jewelry designer, Marie started making jewelry from the various seeds she found on Saba. My velvet balls? Turns out they are seeds from the only example of a particular flowering tree on the island. (See opening photo.) She forages seeds, dries them, drills them, and arranges them in striking configurations.

Marie is generous with her homegrown studio. If the sign it out, stop by. She is a botanical font of information regarding Saba flora. Not only did she give us the detailed history of every seed in her collection. She also took us through her garden to show us many examples in their native habitat.

CHECK OUT MARIE DE SABA ONLINE HERE. SHE SHIPS!

I’m grateful for my velvet ball necklace. Every time I wear it, I’m reminded to slow down. Listen to the people I encounter. Savor the experience of life.

My time with Marie is one of my biggest takeaways from Saba. How many of us would throw open the doors to our homes for an hour? Spend time with someone who shows up unannounced? Have actual conversations without pinging phones and notifications and emails?

When life is unhurried, we stumble upon the slow, the not-showy, the true morsels of life.

If you’re new to this Saba adventure, go to THIS POST and read forward for context. Maybe you’ll discover a hidden part of the world to enjoy someday.

All photos in this post courtesy of Anne Becker.