Kendall Conrad designs pendant to benefit ocean organization
Ella Thayer models the Project Zero Pendant, designed by Kendall Conrad.
Kendall Conrad has combined her talent as an accessory designer with her concern about climate change to create a new piece of jewelry.
It’s called the Project Zero Pendant, a rounded rectangular-shaped pendant made of solid brass, sterling silver or 14-karat gold with an embossed design on a natural brown leather cord.
Proceeds from the pendants, which cost $200 each, benefit Project Zero, a London-based organization that is working to protect and restore the ocean.
“Every pendant comes with your own unique ocean coordinates, which we will send to you after your purchase, signifying your adoption of a piece of the ocean. Your coordinates are one square kilometer of the ocean that we are working to restore and protect and make progress in the fight against climate crisis,” said Ms. Conrad.
The former local resident’s passion for the ocean developed while growing up in a home on the beach at Rincon Point with her parents, Mary Conrad, and the late Barnaby Conrad, well-known American author, artist, editor, bullfighter and filmmaker. Mr. Conrad founded the Santa Barbara Writers Conference.
“The ocean is the blue heart of our planet, supplying oxygen, absorbing carbon, creating jobs, food and endless beauty. It is our biggest ally against the climate crisis,” Ms. Conrad told the News-Press. “Project Zero has set out to create a global network of ocean sanctuaries to provide resilience to the devastating effects of the climate crisis.”
She became involved with Project Zero last summer after meeting its founder.
“I decided to create the pendant with a meaningful design that had a big enough concept to represent the ocean. The embossed symbols on the pendant represent the earth, sun and ocean,” said Ms. Conrad during a phone interview from her home in Venice, Calif., where the longtime Montecito resident moved last year with her husband, David Cameron, and their two daughters, Luisa, 23, and Fernanda, 20.
“We hated to leave Montecito, but it just made more sense to move to the Los Angeles area since I have my store in Brentwood and design handbags for Vince Camuto, and David is a fashion photographer, film maker and interior designer,” said Ms. Conrad, who attended Laguna Blanca School and graduated from the Taft School in Watertown, Conn.
She left UCLA to model for John Casablancas in New York City, Milan and Paris, returning to Santa Barbara in 1997 when her first child was born.
Ms. Conrad pointed out that “the ocean accounts for 70% of our planet but only about 2% of its waters are fully protected, and the vast majority of existing ocean sanctuaries are either poorly managed or not looked after at all. Today the ocean is sick. We need to restore the ocean to health to save our planet.
“The ocean is our planet’s life support system. Every second breath we take comes from the ocean, which makes the clouds that make rain and snow to give us fresh water. Over one billion people daily rely on the ocean as a source of food and countless others for their livelihoods.
“The ocean stores carbon and regulates the climate. The ocean gives us life. It represents 99% of all liveable space on our planet, yet only 2% is strongly protected. No ocean, no life.”
According to Ms. Conrad, “It’s time to show the ocean some love. The ocean needs safe havens where it can replenish and fortify itself against climate change, overfishing and pollution.”
email: mmcmahon@newspress.com
FYI
Project Zero Pendants are available at www.kendallconraddesign.com. They cost $200 each, and all proceeds benefit Project Zero, which works to protect and restore the ocean.
