HOME coming

The de Vera beach house in Pangasinan is an ode to mother, to lovingly collected objects and the stories they contain.

- AUDREY CARPIO

Most children have imaginary friends. Federico de Vera had an imaginary cabinet of curiosities, one where he would collect sacred relics and rare objects, precious gems and antique finds.

Among his nine siblings, he was the one with an eye for detail, noticing when something in their house was out of place or needed attention. He was also the one who absorbed his mother's passion for jewelry, often helping her choose her adornments when getting ready for special occasions.

When Federico grew up, his cabinet came to life in the form of a gallery known as De Vera, a 33-year-old entity that has seen several homes in San Francisco, where it was born, and New York City, where it came of age. De Vera the gallery is now located in Chelsea, where it is known as a repository of devotional objects, classical portraiture, fine antiques, insect taxidermy, and reinvented jewelry. Weird, beautiful stuff that has traveled through time and space, passing through de Vera's hands for only a moment before they find new custodians, many of whom are high-profile clients from the entertainment and fashion industry.

The first necklace de Vera ever made was an interpretation of an ancient Greek necklace he saw in a book. Stringing together tiny pearls and seeds, he was reminded of how as a child he would collect shells and driftwood on the beach and cobble them together, and realized he could make things with his own hands. "That's how it started, and now people mostly think I'm a jeweler," he says.