“She sells seashells by the seashore.” So goes the familiar tongue twister. But who was she? She was, in fact, Mary Anning, a pioneering mid-19th century marine paleontologist who supported her family in the British coastal town of Lyme Regis by selling fossilized shells. Despite her Victorian-era fame, Anning couldn’t publish her findings; the scientific field at the time held little regard for women’s work.

“So, if she sells seashells on the seashore, then I’m sure she sells seashore shells.” Shells are undeniable: they span time periods, interior styles, even material cultures. Like women’s work, they make homes, carry memories, and are wholly their own. Coinciding with SOUVENIR’s Summer 2026 concept collection, Melissa Fisher-Rozenberg: one cannot exist without another originated from separate conversations this curator had with the shop owner and artist about being working mothers, inspiring this circular exchange. From SOUVENIR’s College Street window, selections of seashells from the respective collections of one of the artist’s sons and SOUVENIR’s owner Danielle Suppa rest on delicate wall shelves made with embroidery thread. Here, seashells are about women’s work but also models of production and consumption that centre sharing, reuse, and repair.

In Tkaronto/Toronto, Melissa Fisher-Rozenberg is known for her recognizable temporary site-specific installations that have been shown in shop windows and even ferry terminals. She often works with found materials; think torn and braided vintage bedding, a marbled ceramic object cast within a plastic garbage can. These materials carry a deeply felt affinity for the artist to connect with others and stem from her commitment to reducing environmental impact. Increasingly, the artist has been creating throughlines between her three-dimensional installation and the so-called two-dimensional extensions of photography and drawing. She describes them, in terms of her own process, as “multimodal adaptations [that] broaden [her] singular, tactile expressions” connected to her lived reality as an artist, mother and even entrepreneur.

As part of its ongoing exploration of mementos for the living, SOUVENIR carries floral drawings from Fisher-Rozenberg, and is part of its ongoing art and home décor offerings. Taken together, these works show us how seashells, women’s work, and circular economies connect with what it means to make one’s home.

— Rea McNamara