The Deep South

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ⓥ the Sage & the Butterfly 🦋 (@thesageandthebutterfly) on

In April last year, we spent over two weeks in Atlanta, Georgia.

Atlanta was a great surprise. Our friends, eco luxury designer Linda Loudermilk and Michael Rivellino of Vendroo and Ink2ip, as well as our sister-in-love’s (sounds nicer than in-law) sister, Victoria with her partner Tyrone, live in Atlanta.

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ⓥ the Sage & the Butterfly 🦋 (@thesageandthebutterfly) on

I met Linda on a sustainable design panel that we were part of in Los Angeles, when I was senior designer at Patagonia back in mid 2000s. We stayed in touch and became close friends, more like extended family, really. Some years after Dylan moved to the US from Canada, after his 14 month-long journey from Canada to Latin America (how we met), he met Linda and Michael. They hit it off. They actually became avid collectors of Dylan’s knives. They own quite a collection, which they showed us when we visited them at their place in Atlanta. We’d forgotten how many knives they had gotten. Linda also owns a number of ORG BY VIO jungle bling necklaces and a hand embroidered vest I made. Linda has great style. I love how she layers the Amazon rainforest artisan jewelry with her rock and roll look.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ⓥ jungle bling + fashion Ⓥ (@junglebling) on

 

After I sold my house at the end of 2011, and left Ventura, CA, we were living in Malibu for a short stint. We were renting a large room on the second floor of a Spanish style home owned by friend, Atossa Soltani, founder of Amazon Watch – an NGO focused on the protection of the Amazon rainforest and indigenous peoples rights, which connected me to the first indigenous Amazon rainforest community for my work with ORG BY VIO jungle bling. Linda and Michael kept inviting us to visit them in Idyllwild, where they were in the process of buying a mountain home. A place they could go to and unwind from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. We kept pushing it off, until we finally went one day. We extended our weekend stay to a few days. We went that same week to look for a rental and moved to Idyllwild three weeks later. But life would shift their direction and they left Idyllwild shortly after that. We kept in touch on the phone, Facebook and text, until we reconnected in person in April. It was so good to see these two, in the flesh, again!

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ⓥ the Sage & the Butterfly 🦋 (@thesageandthebutterfly) on

 

There were no optimal places to stay in Atlanta proper; our huge rig and truck being too big for the city. So, we stayed for two weeks in beautiful Stone Mountain campgrounds overlooking Stone Mountain and Stone Mountain Lake. Stone Mountain is the single largest quartz monzonite monandock rock on earth. Its size rendered its name. It turned out to be a gorgeous spot to stay, work and relax. Dylan was even able to make a few more Sage Blades knives there.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ⓥ the Sage & the Butterfly 🦋 (@thesageandthebutterfly) on

 

A bit of controversial history about Stone Mountain – it was the site of the founding of the second Klu Klux Klan in 1915. Later bought by the state of Georgia in 1958, and became a park in 1965. On its north face, it has the largest low-relief carving featuring Confederate figures, which I’ll keep unmentioned here. Linda and Michael took us on a tour of Atlanta and the homes where Linda grew up. We drove by her dad’s mansion, and the plaza where a statue of her dad, Charles Loudermilk, stands. Her dad has been an instrumental figure in the development of Atlanta. He also was a strong supporter of the civil rights movement and knew Martin Luther King Jr. History emanates from every old mansion in Atlanta, where land owners ruled over their plantations. It takes you back to a time when slavery was normal. Sightseeing there is a mixture of enjoying beautiful architecture and thinking about the hardships that slaves endured into beyond colonial times. On one occasion, we went around the lake to hike Stone Mountain. We stumbled upon buildings with a few flags, including the US and Confederate flags. The Confederate flag is proudly displayed on some buildings throughout the area, if you catch it. While it is part of Southern US history, it is still puzzling to see; especially so, because Atlanta is a very diverse city with people from many ethnicities. The flag is even more controversial now, as racial tensions have come to the surface across the US in recent years.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ⓥ jungle bling + fashion Ⓥ (@junglebling) on

 

Linda and Michael arranged a dinner at their place to meet some of their Atlanta friends. A fun group of people from the beauty and healing arts, fashion and real estate, as well as talented singer Mando, who serenaded us with his beautiful voice and guitar. Linda suggested I bring some ORG BY VIO jungle bling – the beautiful jewelry handmade by talented artisans from the Amazon rainforest, which we sell online, along with other lines handcrafted by us and out friends. After dinner a few of them tried some on and selected their picks. I enjoyed having my little store in Idyllwild. Online sales are always good and encouraged. Pop-ups are also a great way to meet and help people choose the right jewelry piece. But there’s something very intimate about doing a home event.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ⓥ the Sage & the Butterfly 🦋 (@thesageandthebutterfly) on


We went into town to Paris on Ponce where Judy, whom I met at Linda’s, selected a few pieces of ORG BY VIO jewelry to sell there. We stopped by Ponce City Market, an industrial space that was once a Sears Roebuck & Co. distribution center from 1926 to 1987 and later turned into a modern industrial mall, living and office space in 2014. The structural steel beams and posts, juxtaposed angles, tall windows and open spaces stand out in this architectural treasure from early twentieth century. The large windows bring natural light into the stores. One particular, store, Citizen Supply, is home to local artists and brands; each space within the store with distinct products. Some of the spaces have working areas where you can see the craftspeople making jewelry and other goods. Some use turn-of-the-last-century equipment. The store has a modern, yet old world feel, a unique shopping experience. We spotted our friend’s Tamra Copper LA Ayurvedic water bottles at Sugarboo & Co store, in the courtyard level. I received my very own The FFS Tamra Copper LA bottle the month before in Boca Raton. I’ve been using it daily since and love it. It has a lot of health benefits. Check it out here.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ⓥ the Sage & the Butterfly 🦋 (@thesageandthebutterfly) on

 

We had Linda, Michael, Victoria and Tyrone over for dinner at the campsite before we left. They hadn’t seen the trailer, yet, so we gave them a quick tour of the living areas and Dylan’s workshop. Whenever people hear that we’ve gone gypsy, traveling the continent with our two dogs, we get mixed remarks. Because they can’t imagine the size and space. Once they see it, they realize that the trailer is big enough and feels like a home. We made sure we remodeled it to our liking and style.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ⓥ the Sage & the Butterfly 🦋 (@thesageandthebutterfly) on

 

From Atlanta, we headed to Cherryville, North Carolina, to visit Samaria, an old CityKid friend who has a large 14 acre plot, where she invited us to park our gypsy caravan. It was so vegetated that we barely fit the trailer up her road, and almost didn’t stay. Luckily, we made it in. We stayed there for two nights.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ⓥ the Sage & the Butterfly 🦋 (@thesageandthebutterfly) on

 

Kue, whom we saw at his art shows in Florida, lives in Lenoir, just an hour north of Cherryville. He and his partner, Corbett, have a mid century modern home, surrounded by flower gardens and forest. The house features Kue’s stunning wire work on the walls, which change constantly, as they sell. We got to see where his metal wire magic happens.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ⓥ the Sage & the Butterfly 🦋 (@thesageandthebutterfly) on

 

Cherryville was a quick stop on our way to Fayetteville, where a young couple who know Dylan’s work, invited us to stay at their property. We’d never met them before, but Ben, we found out, introduced Jeff of Nous Defions, to Dylan’s work. Jeff has sold some of Dylan’s knives through his business, and owns a few Sage Blades knives as well.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ⓥ the Sage & the Butterfly 🦋 (@thesageandthebutterfly) on

 

Julia, Ben’s wife, who loves good design, and knowing that I’d appreciate it, showed me around the house. The house was decorated with furniture pieces by a talented local craftsman, Paul Fuelling. Slabs of trees with minimalist Japanese style joints were made into a dining table and an antique wheel barrel made into a center table, among others. She saw me wearing some of the jungle bling from ORG BY VIO and ended up getting about five necklaces from the Awajun and Yanesha collections. Of course, I gave her a few others as gifts, for her hospitality.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Paul Fuelling (@paulfuelling) on

 

Julia is an impressive woman who is a physicians assistant, an extreme sports athlete and jujitsu martial artist. She is a member Mission 22, which support vets and work to end veteran suicides. Ben is in the special forces and has served around the world. We had very interesting discussions, as we had differing views. While, we didn’t see eye to eye, it was insightful to hear a different perspective.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Julia Parker Gumpert (@juliagumpert) on

 

Ben and Julia own 6 acres outside of Fayetteville near grassy fields, farms and a forest for a backyard. We stayed there for a month. Though, I drove back to Florida two weeks later to visit my sister and nephew for two weeks. Dylan stayed in Fayeteville with Tila, and worked the entire time. He had a few knives and razors to make.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ⓥ the Sage & the Butterfly 🦋 (@thesageandthebutterfly) on

 

I rented a Hyundai Elantra from Hertz in Fayeteville. I always like to rent hybrids or small cars, because they are good on mileage, which means better for the environment. I only filled up twice each way. The drive didn’t seem that long. Though, it was a twelve and a half hour drive to Boca Raton with a few stops. We didn’t rest overnight. It was a personal success, since driving to Los Angeles would make me sleepy in under an hour. You could say, I’m a road warrior now. I took Osita with me, which is why I drove instead of taking a flight. We don’t like putting our dogs in cargo.

 

It was another opportunity to spend more time with my sister and nephew while her husband was away in Brazil, and visit with more friends in South Florida. I did another pop up in Miami at Ironside, an intimate showcase of the artisan jewelry at a friend’s place, and finished another wall hanging while there.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ⓥ the Sage & the Butterfly 🦋 (@thesageandthebutterfly) on

 

At the Ironside pop-up, put on by the talented Karelle of Krelwear, I got to see some friends that I wasn’t able to see on my earlier visit to South Florida. They came by the booth, got some jungle bling as we caught up. I got to see Curline again. We spent some time together earlier in the year when we were in Florida for three months. Before then, I hadn’t seen Curline since she came to LA and I visited her in Spain in early 2000s. We had met through mutual friend Belle, whose jewelry – Things Found NYC – we sell at our online store. Curline and I stayed in touch in between. But it’s so much better in person.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ⓥ the Sage & the Butterfly 🦋 (@thesageandthebutterfly) on

 

Min and Oli stopped by. Min and OIi have the Swampspace Gallery near the Miami Design District. I met them at Kenny’s studio when I was about 20 in NYC. We all moved to Miami in the early 90s. Many lived and/or worked in South Beach. I lived in South Beach. South Beach in the early 90s was magical. Way before it became the commercialized place it is now, it was a place where you’d meet friends at the beach at any time of the day, end days at a drum circle by the shore, gathered for dinner, biked and skated all over, saw friends perform at the local spots and danced till the morning hours at our friends’ clubs. The music and dance scene was rich with the Latin, NY and Caribbean influence in Miami. I’d take my work to the beach and would swim in the ocean in between embroidering an order for a client or store. Modeling agencies were setting up offices in SoBe. Photographers and models would come from New York and Europe to shoot in idyllic settings and Art Deco architecture. It was here, I met magazine editors from New York and Europe who wrote about my work. My roommate Gregor was a model scout and as soon as I finished a garment or accessory, he would set up shoots with gorgeous budding models. We had such a great time.

 

It rained a lot. So, I only got to spend a couple of days in the ocean. Luckily, I swam laps in the pool often. The warm climate is just perfect for being active outside all the time. We went on bike rides, played with the neighborhood kids, and went to see Black Panther with my nephew and a school friend. We were energized and inspired after seeing the film. He’s still saying “Wakanda Forever” when we talk on the phone or FaceTime. He wants to be Black Panther for Halloween. I assume there will be many Black Panthers trick o’ treating come October 31st.

 

After two weeks in Florida, I drove back to Fayetteville, to meet up with Dylan and ‘Tila to continue up the East Coast to New York. I made it from Boca in thirteen hours, with just a few stops to eat, and let Osita walk and do her thing. The good programs on YouTube and Pandora to listen to made the drive a breeze.

Posted in Adventure, Design, Destination, Travel, Update.

I am the one overseeing this website, creating content, posting, sharing... While we are both creative artists, Dylan prefers to spend little time on the screen. I enjoy creating as much as playing with the social aspect of this virtual space. I love to sing, swim, paint, design, dance, skate, surf (though I haven't in way too long), yoga, being with family and friends, naps, though I rarely take one. Born in Peru and raised in New York City, I am a designer by trade, artist from the heart, ecopreneur and vegan. A lover of people, planet and culture.

You can follow me and my work on Instagram @violetavillacorta | @violetavillacorta_official | @violetavillacorta_art | @ORGbyvio | @theSageandtheButterfly | Twitter @viointheamazon | www.violetavillacorta.com | www.orgbyvio.com | www.wildvioletmusic.com