Why My Summer Mood Board Looks Like a Sicilian Kitchen… with Ammo

The chaos, color, and casings behind the summer launch.

☀️ It started with a heatwave. And a memory.

The New York summer had fully arrived. The kind of heat that makes the sidewalk shimmer and your coffee give up within minutes. I was in the studio, surrounded by trays of bullet casings, trying to sketch something—anything—that didn’t feel like I was melting.

The A/C wasn’t winning. My brain wasn’t either.

And then, out of nowhere, a memory hit me:
Sicily.

Not the picture-perfect, postcard kind.
The real kind. Hot. Dusty. Loud in the best ways. Full of lemons, chaos, and joy.

And that’s when the summer collection started to take shape—not from a trend forecast, but from a weekend that rewired everything.

🍋 The Summer That Rewired My Brain (in Italian)

A few years ago, I was living in Florence. My Italian was passable, mostly limited to food, pleasantries, and awkward small talk. Then came the long weekend trip to Sicily.

There, I met three other women: an English girl, a Greek girl, and a Catalan (from that gorgeous region tucked between France and Spain). And we made a pact: no English allowed. If we wanted to speak, it had to be in Italian.

What followed was four days of hand gestures, hilariously broken conversations, lemon trees, ancient cobblestone streets, laughter that crossed all language barriers—and honestly, the best learning experience of my life.

We wandered colorful markets, shared sun-warmed fruit from paper bags, talked about everything and nothing while our skin soaked up Sicilian sun. It was messy, golden, unforgettable.

It was magic, in full color.

🛻 The Jeep Ride That Should’ve Had an Indiana Jones Soundtrack

We took a Jeep up Mt. Etna.

Let me rephrase: we were launched up Mt. Etna in what can only be described as a tin can with four bald tires, zero seatbelts, and a driver who clearly thought he was auditioning for Fast & Furious: Volcanic Drift.

Every bump sent us flying. There were no guardrails, no helmets, and absolutely no OSHA compliance. It was ten times wilder than anything at Disney. And I loved every second of it.

At one point, I met a fellow traveler from the next town over back home—because of course I did. The world shrank, just for a moment, in the middle of dust and lava and wide-open sky.

That ride could’ve been terrifying. Instead, it felt like being awake for the first time in months.

🎨 Back in the Studio, Melting with Lemon Dreams

So there I was—back in New York, designing through a heatwave, iced coffee puddling beside me—suddenly remembering the colors of that trip.

• Lemons hanging heavy on the tree

• Cobalt blue tiles on every doorway

• Terracotta pots glowing with heat

• Wrought iron railings and linen dresses

• Sunlight you could taste

And just like that, I stopped fighting the heat.
I stopped trying to force a “cool” collection and started building a real one.

One that felt like that trip.
Sun-warmed. A little wild. Gritty, glowing, and golden.

🔥 What That Looks Like (And Feels Like)

This summer’s pieces aren’t trying to be trendy.
They’re not tactical.
They’re not soft, either.

They’re rooted. Confident. Pulled from color, memory, and a whole lot of lived-in beauty.

You’ll see:

• Sunflower jewelry that stand tall and stubborn

• Bullet casing jewelry softened with lemon-crystal tones

• Mediterranean palette touches—but with a little brass baked in

• New textures that whisper vacation but wear like armor

Because summer doesn’t have to be effortless.
It just has to feel like you got to show up as your whole damn self.

🌻 What’s Coming This Week

Here’s what I can tell you:

• Our sunflower studs are officially back

• Several new drops inspired by lemon and cobalt color stories are in final polish

• This Friday, we’re hosting a private pre-launch party for insiders only

If you’re already on the list, you’ll get:

• First access to the collection

• A secret 20% discount

• And a private link before the launch goes public

It’s a small batch release. Which means it’s meant to feel intimate—like being handed something across the dinner table, not shouted at in a crowded sale.

🍋 P.S. Want to Taste the Mood Board?

No really—let me give you the edible version of this summer's vibe.

If this post has you craving citrus and color and something you can’t quite name, here’s the no-bake lemon pie I make when it’s too hot to think:

✨ Lemon Yogurt Pie

You’ll need:

• 2 containers of store-bought lemon yogurt

• 1 tub of Cool Whip

• 1 graham cracker pie crust

• (Optional but fabulous: a swirl of lemon curd)

Instructions:
Mix the yogurt and Cool Whip together until smooth. Swirl in lemon curd if you’re feeling zesty. Pour the mix into the pie crust. Freeze it.

That’s it.

Slice it cold. Eat it on a porch. Serve it to friends who just survived a Jeep ride up a volcano—or at least a long, hot Tuesday.

Pro tip: it also works great with key lime or strawberry yogurt. Just pick a bold flavor and go.