These unusual treasures and fashion finds come straight from a cabinet of curiosities.
Busy Bee: Honeybees do more than make honey; they also perpetuate a natural growth cycle by pollinating crops, seeds, and flowers.
Our Pick: Buzz up your breakfast routine with Vagabond House’s pewter and glass honeybee jar and spoon ($210). (CeAnn’s Vieux, Palm Beach)
Close Cloche: For centuries, cloches have been used as mock greenhouses or to display cherished objects.
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Our Pick: Taking inspiration from a trip to the Seunggasa Temple in Seoul, South Korea, Miami artist Amanda Valdes crafted The Dryad of Seunggasa ($900), a 3D tree nymph made with organic materials like moss, dried flora, and natural crystals. (Nicole Henry Fine Art, West Palm Beach)
Fossil Fuel: Named for the Libyan god Ammon, ammonites were ancient spiral-shaped marine mollusks that went extinct 65 million years ago.
Our Pick: Channel your inner paleontologist with Charles Albert’s dramatic ammonite cuff ($148) featuring a natural fossil set in gold-tone alloy. (April Daze Boutique, Stuart, 772-221-1062)
Gruff Cuff: Often misconstrued as uncivilized savages, Scandinavian Vikings were upper-class sea warriors who upheld a democratic legal system and believed in gender equality.
Our Pick: Stir some sartorial mayhem with Deakin & Francis’ Viking skull cufflinks ($1,100) made with rabbit fur, rubies, and pavé black spinel crystals. (Betteridge, Palm Beach)
Handy Man: Artists often use symbols like eyes and burning hearts to convey religious or sociopolitical beliefs.
Our Pick: Mexican surrealist artist Pedro Friedeberg’s spectacular armchair ($27,500) is adorned with golden hands and feet and crowned with a carved saint head. (Galere, West Palm Beach)
Hidden Gem: Like Georgia O’Keeffe, Rene Gibson has a fascination with cow craniums. Since 2010, the West Palm Beach artist has been transforming animal skulls into opulent art work she embellishes with Swarovski crystals, glass tile, and beads as well as found objects like antique brooches.
Our Pick: Merge art and animal with this steer skull (above, $2,400) covered in gold-leaf glass tile, turquoise, and a Tibetan pendant, or opt for this looker (below, left, $4,500) embellished with more than 5,000 Swarovski crystals. (The Painted Ox, West Palm Beach)
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Snake Charmer: The scheming snake got a bad rap in the Garden of Eden but those born in the Chinese zodiac year of the snake are defined by their calm, philanthropic nature.
Our Pick: Give your guests goose bumps with George Sellers’ white plaster serpent bookends ($550). (Mecox Gardens, West Palm Beach)
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