The Origin Story
About Exquisite Eons
So we decided to create a line of sterling silver brooches and, now, paper goods, to signify our dinosaur status. By wearing a dino pin, or penning a note on our cards, you outwardly vote to preserve old-school skills, like communication and social niceties—thank-you notes! (in cursive, of course)—and conversation with friends, even over Zoom. Our pins also suggest that we maintain “old media” like newspapers and books, all being lost to an ethos that prioritizes the taking of selfies more than, say, understanding history and science.
These historic times call for prehistoric measures! Stay connected with your tribe with our Be Positively Prehistoric® and Put Pen to Paper notecards and blank journals, featuring the same delightful dinosaur drawings that inspired the sterling silver brooches.
Exquisite Eons® has become our mission—designed to inspire a social movement and make visible our dino pride. We’re not Luddites and don’t reject technology. But we should cherish the real over the virtual. And that is the essence of the Exquisite Eons® experience, Be Positively Prehistoric®.
A portion of the proceeds of each purchase support the pursuit of science through the nonprofit American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Founding Fossil
Leslie Sternlieb grew up in Coral Gables, Florida, where she dug holes (using a teaspoon) in her backyard in search of dinosaur bones. She didn’t find any there, and apparently no one else did either, because until recently (geologically speaking) Florida was underwater. She collected rocks and fossils, and considered herself an aspiring paleontologist. Leslie’s small local science museum didn’t have any dinosaur skeletons on display--the best they could offer was a concrete model of a giant land sloth, which once inhabited Florida--and she dreamed of seeing the life-size dinosaur models at the Sinclair pavilion at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. She missed out on that, too. (Living in Florida did have its disadvantages.) She watched The Flintstones on TV, however.
Children are often enchanted by dinosaurs and learn the names and habits of these wondrous creatures. Leslie did, and even corrected her second grade teacher when she got something wrong.
Leslie didn't become a paleontologist. In fact, she never made it to calculus, which cut her out of the running for a career in science. Her interests expanded to a wide range of subjects, and she became a writer and editor instead. As she grew older, philanthropy became a priority, and she served in leadership positions on a variety of nonprofit boards.
But collecting jewelry for her always held a special allure… particularly antique and artist-made pieces that told some kind of story.
Exquisite Eons® unites her passions for jewelry, science, and philanthropy—with much nostalgia for her childhood dinosaur days.