As a New Yorker with strong emotions each year on 9/11 (not mention someone with a 9/11 birthday), I am acutely aware of how many of us are profoundly connected to today’s events, even 14 years later. I still leave the TV off all day, and I can’t watch any video of the towers falling. Seeing it live, once, was enough. And yet I found myself oddly comforted by the subtly beautiful WTC earrings by Andrea Panico of Pico Design and I really wanted to share them.

Andrea grew up right across the Hudson from the towers, and as a jeweler who finds her inspiration from architecture (like her laser cut heart necklace, which I still adore; or her joinery earrings), she originally created the WTC design as a one-of-a-kind piece to raise money for the 9/11 Memorial Fund. With more requests, she made more pairs of the earrings available on her site, and continues to donate a large portion of the proceeds.

I loved those buildings so much; they were every New Yorker’s compass. Seeing them through Andrea’s eyes helps me remember them as what they were, not what they became. There’s something really nice about that.

Find the WTC earrings by Andrea Panico at Pico Design which help support the 9/11 Memorial Fund.