The Lemon & Line Story
Newport, Rhode Island
Not inspired by the coast.
Born from it.
There are places where sailing is something you do. And there are places where it is simply part of life. Newport has always been the latter.
Lemon & Line was born here in 2010.
The idea was simple enough: take a familiar summer staple and make one that was cleaner, more considered, made for everyday wear, and easy to take off when you wanted to.
Not just another piece of beach jewelry. The kind of nautical bracelet that feels at home in, on and around the water.
Chapter One · 2010
It started on a Dark ’n Stormy night.
The details of that night are a little foggy. The Dark ’n Stormys probably didn’t help, or maybe they did?
What David remembers is the bracelet on his wrist and the thought that there was a better version waiting to be made.
The traditional Turks Head had been around forever. It was familiar to anyone who spent enough time around boats. It carried a certain nostalgia with it—a summer, a boat, a waterfront town.
But the old versions were often just that. Souvenirs with a doomed Labor Day fate.
David wanted something you didn’t put away when summer was over. He started experimenting with line, knots and hardware.
The goal wasn’t to make something complicated. It was to take a familiar piece of nautical tradition and make it cleaner, more durable and easier to live in every day.
In 2010, Lemon & Line introduced the original square-knot bracelet. The idea was simple.
Take something sailors already knew.
Build it properly.
Chapter Two · The Craft
Our Craft. Our Home.
Newport has been part of Lemon & Line from the beginning. It’s where we designed the first bracelet. It’s where our flagship store is today. And it’s where our rope bracelets are still cut and handcrafted, one at a time.
The work isn’t particularly complicated. But it matters.
The sea has a way of exposing shortcuts.
Salt gets into things. Sun breaks things down. Water finds the weak point. We pay attention to what goes into the bracelet before we worry about what it looks like on the wrist.
Our bracelets use marine-grade materials, including 316L stainless steel and custom USA-made line. The materials are chosen for the environment they’re meant to live in. The construction is designed around them.
That sounds simple. It is. That’s the point.
Handcrafted in Newport
Our home. Our craft. Since 2010.
Seaworthy by Design
Purposeful materials. Proven construction.
Built to Last
Made for life in, on, and around the water.
Chapter Three · Our Founder
A life lived by the sea.
Born and raised in Barrington, Rhode Island, David was introduced to sailing before he could walk. He grew up on the docks of Barrington Yacht Club—sailing Sunfish and 420s, racing, and spending long summer days on the water.
Cruising was part of that life from the beginning. Summers aboard the family Pearson 36, Orion, exploring Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Cuttyhunk and beyond.
Sailing wasn’t something he discovered later in life. It was always there.
A youth sailing coach in college and, later, an Art Director for twelve years at Cruising World and Sailing World, David has spent much of his life around the boats, sailors and equipment that make up the sailing world—while continuing to race himself.
He is an active member of the New York Yacht Club, Barrington Yacht Club and Cuttyhunk Yacht Club, and is a top finisher at Charleston Race Week, Block Island Race Week, the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta, Key West Race Week, Buzzards Bay Regatta and other major sailing events.
David’s passion is, undeniably, boating. When he’s not on the water, he can often be found in Newport, cutting line, crafting bracelets by hand, shipping orders and designing what comes next for Lemon & Line.
That part hasn’t changed much.
Proven on the Water
Trusted at the highest level of the sport.
Lemon & Line has been chosen by the teams and events that know what holds up at sea.
Official Bracelet2017–18 Volvo Ocean Race
Team BraceletNYYC American Magic
Official Belt2023 12 Metre World Championship
As Featured In
- Yachting
- Cruising World
- SAIL
- Blue Water Sailing
- BoatUS
- The Boston Globe
- Real Simple
Why Newport
It matters where something comes from.
Newport isn’t just where our studio happens to be. It’s part of how we think about what we make.
Spend enough time here and sailing becomes less of a lifestyle and more of a language. Boats are in the harbor. Races are on the calendar. You learn quickly that some things are built for the water and some things only look like they are.
We’ve always preferred the former.
That’s why Lemon & Line is designed here, and why our rope bracelets are still handcrafted in our Newport studio. Not because “Newport” sounds good on a label.
Because it’s home.
Visit Us
Stop by the shop.
Our Newport flagship sits on Thames Street, a few steps from the harbor. Our Nantucket shop on Straight Wharf is open seasonally. Come try one on.
Born by the sea.
Built by hand.
Years later, the bracelet has changed a little. The reason for making it hasn’t.
- Use good materials.
- Build with purpose.
- Keep the design simple.
- Make something worth wearing.
That’s Lemon & Line. Born in Newport, Rhode Island. Still handcrafted. Still built for life in, on, and around the water.
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