Monthly Roundup: October 2024

Before I begin this month’s roundup, in case you missed it I wanted to mention that Abel now has a Substack. This might seem kind of redundant — and there will certainly be times when you see content overlap — but for the most part you can expect to see me get a bit more personal over there.

They also have a notes feature (these are kind of like tweets), which I plan to use for more fleeting thoughts and BTS. You can read a bit more about my thought process for starting a Substack in my first post here.

The Abel Journal (what you’re reading now) will stay the same, and all sales and new product announcements will come solely via my mailing list. The aspect of Substack I’m most excited about is the fact that it’s much more conducive to having a dialogue, so I hope you’ll follow along and chat with me there!

Anyways, now on to the roundup...

(01) BUYING CLOTHES WON'T MAKE YOU FASHIONABLE

This wasn’t intentional but perhaps it only makes sense to kick things off with the queen of Substack herself, Erika Veurink. Erika writes Long Live, one of the three Substacks I pay to subscribe to, and honestly the initial portal that led me down the rabbit hole to start my own.

At the end of September Erika published a piece called Buying Clothes Won’t Make You Fashionable, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it all month.

Okay I know we just got started but I need to pause here with a note: I originally meant to write a quick blurb here about Erika’s essay, but as I started writing, words kept coming and now I have a full-blown 800+ word essay sitting in my drafts folder. I think it deserves to be a post in its own right, so I actually won’t get into any commentary at this very moment…

But! Consider this your reading assignment — please go give Erika’s piece a read. Then stay tuned for my ~thoughts~ on it, which I’ll finish writing and publish soon.

(02) GOOD ON YOU

On the topic of conscious consumption, I’ve started using the Good on You app whenever I’m thinking about making a purchase that isn’t second-hand. As a general rule of thumb, I try not to purchase from brands that don’t mention anything about their environmental or social practices on their website (as the old saying goes, “if you don’t have anything good to say…). But sometimes companies use vague language and it can be hard to determine what is real and what is just marketing jargon, so this app has been helpful in situations where I need a quick gut check.

Good on You ranks fashion brands based on their ethical and environmental practices across three main areas: people, planet, and animals. Each brand receives a rating from "We Avoid" to "Great," which helps you more easily see how a brand aligns with your values.

While they do have rankings for thousands of companies, I have found that they’re often missing smaller brands (especially independent ones). They are continually adding to their database, however, so I imagine it will only become more robust with time. At the time of writing this, I’ve submitted to have Abel evaluated.

(03) ON THE GAUX

Speaking of brands that proactively speak about their values, I walked around the neighborhood with (and wearing) Margaux for their ongoing Gaux Girl series. Margaux’s footwear is designed in NYC and produced by a family-owned factory in Spain, with a unique emphasis on comfort and inclusive sizing.

Call it kismet but when they reached out, I had been searching for a pair of loafers on and off for over a year, never finding a pair that felt quite right (at least for me I feel like loafers are so particular). One of the styles they were planning to launch this fall was a loafer, and I was honestly a bit dubious they would work on me when they suggested I try wearing them for the shoot. I’m really happy to report that I was wrong!

The most notable characteristic of The Louisa Loafer that you can’t tell just by looking at it is how light it is — it feels akin to wearing sandals, except for the obvious fact that your toes are covered. One of my common complaints with the loafers I tried on over the months was that they felt like I was walking with lead weights on my feet, but that’s not the case with these loafs. Needless to say, I kept them.

(04) CENTRAL PARK GEOLOGY TOUR

While the loafers are definitely comfortable enough to, I didn’t end up wearing them to a geology tour of Central Park I went on a couple weeks ago. The tour was hosted by Daniel Babin (aka @geoknowledgy), who is a geologist, climate scientist, and educator here in NYC. I was lucky enough to spend the most stupidly gorgeous fall day walking around Central Park with him and a group of other rock enthusiasts.

While I’ve always had somewhat of an affinity for rocks (I’ve collected them ever since I was little), in more recent years the adoption of rock climbing as a hobby and jewelry as my career has all but solidified the fact that I am an all-out rock nerd. I’ve been following Daniel on Instagram ever since my friends (and fellow rock nerds) Tin&Ed went on a tour of his last year, and I’m so glad I was finally able to attend one myself.

Daniel’s passion for geology is contagious and he’s a really wonderful and engaging teacher. It’s amazing how little we pay attention to what’s underfoot day to day but after this tour, I’m certainly never walking around with the same eyes again.

If you’re interested in going on a tour yourself, you can sign up for updates on future events here.

(05) AN ABEL WEDDING ENSEMBLE

While I did not provide any rocks for this particular wedding (that’s a poor attempt at a diamond joke), Abel was certainly very present at a recent iconic NYC elopement.

I had the absolute privilege of not only making the groom’s custom wedding band, but also the bride’s wedding bands (yes plural, her wedding “band” is actually two Column Stack Rings!). For finishing touches, she wore the Arp Earrings and a Tilt Signet Ring on her pinky.

How we came to settle on the Column Stack Rings for the bride’s wedding bands was somewhat accidental — she was at my studio for a fitting (we originally had a different design in mind for her band) and at one point we started playing around with a spare pair of Column Stacks for sizing reference. That’s when we discovered they perfectly nest her engagement ring, and it felt meant to be!

I love how with the three rings she has flexibility and versatility in how she incorporates her wedding set into her daily ring stack.

The final detail I’ll mention: each of her Column Stack Rings has an engraving on the side, which means the personalized message from groom to bride can either be hidden or displayed depending on how they’re stacked.

Thank you Paula and Corey for letting me play this small role in your wedding, I’m looking forward to watching these pieces grow old with you!