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And bees. And dragonflies. And beetles. Soon a snake will be slithering into the mix, too. But the undisputed hero of Kingdom, the new collection from Sonoma County, Calif.–based designer Jennifer Dawes, is the monarch butterfly. The monarch’s population has declined to such an extent that it currently qualifies as an endangered species, and its vulnerability is what sent Dawes on this gemstone flight of fancy in the first place.
“I learned about the potential extinction of the monarch butterfly while I was at our local feed store,” she says. “They were releasing some that just emerged out of their chrysalis. I was shocked to hear that they were about to be put on the endangered species list. The reason why is because of destruction to their milkweed habitat along their migratory route as housing expands into their territory, plus the use of pesticides and herbicides. Since learning this I have been working on creating a butterfly sanctuary on my property with milkw