ART & CULTURE
Sailor’s Valentine Melon i e M a s s a ’ s fa s c i n at i o n with f l owe rs a n d t h e s e a shine s t h ro u g h i n h e r eth ere al cre at io ns By Callie Bisset
M
elonie Massa has been making things for as long as she can remember, but it was at age 10 that she found the medium she still uses today. During a school field trip to the New Bedford Whaling Museum, the Bristol native first laid eyes on a sailor’s valentine, an old maritime craft dating back to the 1800s where shadow boxes are filled with intricate designs made of seashells. The lore is that sailors would bring these home to their
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sweethearts as love tokens from sea. “So many of them featured shell flowers, and I became obsessed with that detail,” explains Massa. Combining artistic talent with an interest in botany, Massa began looking at shells as petals – and was soon constructing flowers. At first, Massa created wearable pieces for herself like jewelry and hair accessories, but received so many compliments and inquiries that she started carrying business cards. In 2009 she opened an online Etsy shop and started attending
artisan shows under the name Mermaid’s Baubles. Today, Massa produces and sells her shell blossoms as bracelets, rings, pendants, earrings, and more, along with taking custom orders. One of her favorite requests was creating home accents for a newlywed couple using shells they’d beachcombed on their honeymoon. Seeking shells for Mermaid’s Baubles has brought Massa to the beaches of Puerto Rico, and most recently Riviera Maya, a stretch of Caribbean coastline on Mexico’s northeastern Yucatán
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