FIELD TRIP- Basha Burwell  August 2009

by Veronique McAree
Photography Liz Atterbury

Chic yet modest. Simple and honest. Refreshingly unique. Do these words describe Basha Burwell or her inimitable collection of jewelry? Both, actually. You only have to step into her Cape in Brooklin, Maine—where she lives with her husband, the novelist Peter Behrens, and their young son—to witness the joyous fluidity of her creative and personal life.

Maine is not only the place Burwell calls home (she’s a fifth-generation Mainer); it’s where she established her jewelry business over twenty years ago, after studying at the Portland School of Art (now the Maine College of Art) and in Italy, then apprenticing with New York and Maine jewelers. Now she divides her time between art directing for catalog photo shoots and making her unequivocally lovely line of jewelry.

Burwell’s work draws from nearby and far-flung influences, channeling everything from the beach (a stone’s throw from her house) to the urban landscapes and foreign cultures she has encountered on her travels. One standout, a gold Cambodian coin ring, was inspired by a trip to Southeast Asia. Many of her designs are also driven by her passion for found objects, which she renews with a touch of the modern.

Wearing stacks of her own designs, Burwell demonstrates the wearable quality of her graceful jewelry, which she believes should not be saved for special occasions. “My pieces are unique but are meant to be indestructible,” says Burwell. “I want people to wear them all the time, including to sleep and in the shower.”

This wear-all-the-time design philosophy drives Burwell’s cultlike following. Because most of her line is handcrafted, she limits sales to small specialty boutiques and trunk shows.

“I don’t mass produce, so you are not going to see my designs on anyone else,” she says.

Burwell’s house, like her jewelry, is loose. Modernizing the traditional 1850s Cape interior has provided a minimalist yet stylish backdrop for her creations. Collections of artfully arranged objects—from a wire anchor discovered at a Brooklin antique store to found objects and contemporary photography, all of which are mixed with heaps of wooden toys cast away by her busy son—create a carefree, creative canvas for her life as a Maine artist.

Her world is so inviting, we can’t help but linger…in fact, we find it hard to say good-bye. Proof we’ve found one of the many hidden gems who call Maine home.