Notes From The City: An Abundant Life

Vera Tse is a woman with vision. I met her at the opening night celebration for the wonderful new restaurant Vapiano in New York City that I will be writing about in a future post, and when I heard that she was an architect and a jewelry designer, I asked if I could meet with her at her studio to see her work. She invited me out to Williamsburg one lovely Sunday afternoon, and before going to her studio she suggested we meet at the restaurant Spritzenhaus, which is a beer garden that has outdoor and indoor seating that looks onto the out of doors and McCarren Park across the way through wide open windows that create the feeling that you're not in a city at all. True, we were not in The City proper - we were on the border of Williamsburg and Greenpoint, which once upon a time was very quiet and off the beaten track, but on a brilliantly beautiful sunny Sunday, the streets were so packed that it was difficult to walk down them. But the place that Vera had suggested was off the packed and teeming main streets, and though the restaurant was crowded, it had such an open and airy feeling that it didn't seem crowded at all. I love German food, and as I've mentioned before in these pages I'm a foodie who loves to try new places. Vera knows good food and great spaces and so we sat together and talked over one of the most delicious bratwurst sandwiches I've had since I can't remember when. Both the food and the conversation were delightful, because Vera has so much that is interesting to share about her views of life, her experiences, her artwork and her vision, and she is also very community minded and caring of others so our conversation went from one topic to the next very enjoyably. I'd ordered a large stein of delicious Montauk Wave Chaser IPA which kept me occupied for a while, and when we had finished, we made our way to Vera's studio across the street. It was just as lovely as I had expected after having had the opportunity to spend time with the lovely Vera, and her jewelry design was stunning. She had been wearing a necklace and a ring that I was thinking must have been her own designs and they were, and the other pieces she showed me were equally enchanting. I could see in her designs her love for architecture and line and geometry, and then she began explaining the concept behind certain pieces which had already been lovely but became even more so when I had the opportunity to hear about them and try them on and feel what she had designed them to be. Not only are her pieces beautiful and beautifully designed, they are tactile and made so that the wearer can interact with them and see how they feel when they're worn. It becomes an emotional experience that is both uplifting and calming to wear Vera's jewelry, and in this day and age we're living in, I say more power to that. She also is deeply interested in helping to support her local community with her art and her entrepreneurial ideas. The way her mind envisions is beautiful and practical, a true architect and an artist at work.

Vera Tse In Her Studio

Brooklyn, New York

http://www.veratse.com/