Last year, as my niece’s daughter neared graduation, I asked her to stop by the studio and help me design something that she would like. Knowing that she was heading to Auburn, she wanted me to design something with blue and orange. I had just had the great luck of stumbling across someone who was getting rid of turquoise and natural coral they had been sitting on for over 30 years and grabbed up most of the stones they were letting go of. Most coral you see today is farmed. It is no longer legal to harvest natural coral so this was really a find. Some of the coral pieces I purchased had an orange tint to them. My niece immediately picked it out to go into the design and told me a basic layout she thought her daughter would like. She preferred silver, but sterling would be too fragile for the design, bending easily, so I made the choice to create it in stainless steel. Anyone who has created wire jewelry knows that stainless is hard to work with. It resists bending, which is a good then when you finally get it shaped, until then, not so much. I was finally able to get the stones set in the design. The result, a one of a kind piece for my great-niece (I used to tell her I was her greatest aunt). My niece told me later that she might like to have me make one like it for her. I told her it might be the only one ever made lol It was a challenge, but the result is beautiful. It’s the perfect way to wear school colors without wearing the school label. Just kidding. I’ll make more with this pattern, maybe….
This year, my other niece’s daughter graduated. I asked her to come to the studio too, to help me design something for her daughter, but life was busy for both of us. They stopped by my booth at an event and I told my other great-niece to pick something out. Her choice? One of my newest and most favorite pieces. I had just finished it, but had wanted to make it for a while, but I just had to find the right stone. Moonstone has become my most popular ring and I had been searching for a stone what would work to create a tree of life on. I finally found it and had it with me at the event. That was her choice. I was so glad, I LOVE this necklace and once again, it may be the only one created like it. At least until I run across another stone large enough and cut to work in that setting. I wanted her to have something special, something made just for her. It feels as if it was.