Transcendent Jewelry Boutique Finds Home in Hastings

Walk into Hastings jewelry store "Art Transcending Time" and you will most likely find owner and artist Linda Angel hard at work on creating new pieces to fill the shelves of her store when everything on display has been sold.

The new shop—located on the corner of Spring Street, facing the library—is Angel's first retail space. Filled with colorful beads, shimmering crystals and luminous stones, her space makes it hard for passersby on the way to the train station or Village Hall not to take a moment to look inside. 

"I wasn't actually looking for a retail location," said Angel, who lives in Edgemont. "But I just fell in love with the space and decided to take a leap of faith."

From just a quick look at her merchandise, it becomes clear that Angel's pieces are anything but ordinary. Old photographs, sketches and mosaics are framed by butterfly wings and intricate beading designs.

"I've been collecting antique mosaics for a long time," Angel said. "Some date back as far as the 1880's." Many were acquired during her travels in Italy. 

When she was a child, Angel always marveled at a pin her grandmother wore that contained a piece of an old European mosaic. The image of that piece left an indelible mark on her memory, and Angel carried it with her from childhood through to adulthood and her career, incorporating antique themes into paintings and furniture designs.

But Angel did not transition to jewelry making until about 14 years ago. "I was practicing a guided meditation a few years after my daughter died and realized that what I truly wanted was to feel again," she recalled. "That way I would be able to experience happiness and creativity." She was inspired to make a necklace with a heart, which was the springboard into her now flourishing jewelry design business. 

From the beginning, Angel has used pieces from the past to create both aesthetic and meaningful jewelry that transcends place and time.

Besides mosaics, Angel will make custom pieces for customers using black-and-white photographs of their ancestors set behind an antique chandelier crystal. She also designs decorative children's furniture, with colorful, painted scenes surrounding cutouts of Victorian images.

Angel is effusive in her gratitude toward the Hastings community, which, she said,  has been "so nice and welcoming. People even came with welcome gifts when I first opened."

She hopes to start offering jewelry-making classes in the summer for children and adults.

Necklaces range in price from about $120 to $350—depending on the materials and complexity of the design—and earrings from $30 to about $140.

"Art Transcending Time" is located at 1 Spring Street in Hastings. Store hours are Tues. through Sat. 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., or by appointment. Reach Angel at (914) 231-9555.