Life is so circular.
Back in 2020, New York hadn’t shut down yet but I was already at my parents’ house, hiding. I’d just been fired from Refinery29, I had a somewhat decent severance, and a very real urge to mark the moment with something tangible.
Something to hold when I made it through as a testament that I had, a talisman. I needed to mark the moment before it slipped away.
So late one night, I started searching for the best gold jewelry brands to shop online. I landed on an article at the Strategist, and after further research, I clicked ‘add to cart’ on a Carter Herringbone Chain from Kinn — hold on, don’t click that link and see the price and start saying ‘big money’ anything, I bought that 6 years ago, and it was nothing close to that price.
I began refreshing the tracking immediately. It arrived six days later. New York officially shut down eight days later.
I’d interviewed for positions at Pyer Moss, Glamour magazine, and ESSENCE all of that was on pause now. So I freelanced, doing sponsored content for New York magazine’s The Cut, writing a piece for ELLE that appeared in print and Indie magazine in Berlin. I wrote a cover story for PAPER magazine. I bought a pair of marquise-shaped diamond studs from an online estate sale as a thank-you to myself.
A year later, in February 2021, I joined Grazia USA magazine as the culture editor for its foray into United States media, and to mark that, you guessed it: she bought herself jewelry. This time, I added two small but delicate Kinn pieces. A Micro Rolo anklet and a Round Diamond bracelet, both which haven’t left my body, save for the three weeks exactly, I sent the bracelet back to California to be repaired.
The week I moved into my big girl apartment in New Jersey, almost two years ago now, Kinn coincidentally was having a New York pop-up shop. By this time, I’d made several other purchases, not all tied to difficult endings or new beginnings, let’s just call those pieces of ‘fluff,’ so a sales associate called to see what pieces she could put on my wishlist to try on in person.
Everything was gorgeous but one piece in particular caught my eye, it was a heavy puffed Mariner Chain bracelet. One that I had been envisioning on my wrist for a while now. I bought it, and then had a lovely lunch with my mom. I’d envisioned experiences like that, too.
One of my favorite things about getting older and being more intentional about the things I buy is the story they tell. I can’t wait to be a fabulous older woman with heavily adorned wrists and long nails. When I was younger that was the height of glamour to me, but we can (and will!) talk about that another time.
Next Friday is my last day at the job I’ve had for the last four years. And so if history is any indication, that means I need a little treat from Kinn, a piece of jewelry that rings up under $500, tax and shipping included, to mark this next chapter and all that it entails.
So often when things are good in my life, it’s so easy to forget they weren’t always. This purchase will remind me. It’s a testament to that Channing who got us this point, and this Channing who is transitioning into future Channing, may she be so fab.
These things I’ve bought aren’t covering up what’s inside like Kanye West rapped in “All Falls Down,” they are actually quite revealing. An altar to my resilience, deepest desires, and well, fluff. So you know quite soon, I will be refreshing a tracking number from Kinn, anxiously awaiting my next talisman.
