Leslie

A mother will drop off your forgotten swim suit at summer day camp on her valuable lunch break because it will crush her heart to think of you sadly sitting poolside all day while your friends splash and play in the deep end. A mother will also stay up all through the night to finish her law school assignment and not regret for a moment that earlier in the day she took the time to help you make valentines for your second grade classmates. Leslie is mother who does this AND looks fantastic in a beautiful gray suit and pointy-toe, suede stilettos. A modern-day super woman; her beauty, intelligence, and success are uncompromised by her motherhood. In fact, her beauty, intelligence, and success are made more remarkable by her motherhood.
This necklace is comprised of three clusters of fresh water pearls on a silver tone which represent Leslie and her two children. The clusters are blushed with gray and pink and accented by nuclei of large glass beads and pearls. All are sewn onto reinforced felt and backed in velvety pink fabric for wearable comfort.

Sr. Joan Marie

My fifth grade world was ruled by the "Iron Habit" a.k.a. Sister Joan Marie. As harmless as I appeared in a green and white plaid uniform pinafore, I seemed to be in constant trouble in Sr. Joan Marie's class. Some of my most serious offenses: 1.) sneaking a library book about chimpanzees into the girls' bathroom and forgetting to return to the classroom and 2.) copying gross words like "hemorrhoid" out of the dictionary. She was a stern disciplinarian but fair. For example: if you were playing kick-ball in front of the convent garage and she came roaring through the parking lot in her behemoth sedan, she would give you the courtesy of exactly one blaring honk before you better get your plaid-a$$ out of dodge.
She was an "old school" nun even back in my day and taught her students to fear Satan. She said that if you ever see him coming around the corner you should say "Jesus, Mary, Joseph!" and pray the "Hail Mary" every day. Well, maybe this necklace will offer a little more protection. It is a wooden tile painted white and bearing a transferred image of the Holy Mother. Iridescent turquoise glass beads, cobalt blue wooden beads, and vintage silver tone rosary beads hang amidst wired layers of white stone chips.

Reyna Sisters

I have four sister-in-laws and perhaps it would be a better story if I told you that gaining acceptance into their close knit family was chaotic and challenging, but it was quite the opposite. They welcomed me with open arms from the very beginning. And as I fell deeply in love with their brother, space in my heart for my new sisters also grew. Caring, compassionate, kind, and generous are just some of the characteristics of these truly queenly women. I count my blessings everyday and among them are Silvia, Mabel, Carmen, and Erica.
This regal necklace was inspired by my sister-in-laws. Three opulent strands of large white faux glass pearls are arranged on shaped wire to perfectly encircle the neck. The traditional images on wood tiles are repurposed from a handcrafted Mexican jewelry and have been framed with acrylic gemstones. A silver tone chain finishes the back of the necklace for comfort.

Lisa

Everyone respects Lisa; not because she demands it but because she earns it by treating people with value and kindness. She taught me that the best way to get to the top is not by stomping on the backs of others but having others lift you up.
Natural turquoise color stone cushions are lifted by glass pearls in these earrings inspired by Lisa.

Brenda

Acceptance is a pivotal goal of human existence. It is the driving force behind virtually all behavior beginning in early childhood. Biological anthropologists believe infants are inherently beautiful and attractive with large eyes, round faces, symmetrical features, and soft skin (characteristics more commonly known as "cuteness") so that they are accepted by their mothers and receive more attention, thus, increasing their chances of survival. The need for acceptance seems to be at its greatest peak in the teen years. Behind the popularity contests, clique formation, and bullying that perhaps tortured us all at some point of our young lives, is the hunger for a sense of belonging. However, if this need is somehow left unrequited during development, it is ever so much more achingly painful in later life -- it can turn into dangerous self loathing or deadly self destruction.
In the need for acceptance, we desperately ask the question "Who am I?" It is answered by our families, our peers, and our communities before we can answer it for our selves. In our membership among these groups, we see reflections of ourselves and learn the language of self expression. Sometimes membership does not come easily, as individuals we are all unique and are required to relinquish ourselves to some degree of conformity for acceptance. I cringe every time I tell my three year old she must stay in line at dance class and not spin around or pretend to be a butterfly when all the other girls are following directions. I know there's a time and place when appropriate behavior is necessary but I hope my reigning in of her free spirit does not extend outside the dance studio walls. I know some of the other little girls (and their parents) get a little annoyed when my daughter strays outside her line or pulls her t-shirt up over her head and bumps around. But then, there is another little girl who laughs at her antics and makes funny faces with my daughter in the mirror. During a break, I was helping my daughter fix her dance skirt and telling her to "follow the other girls" when this pure-hearted little girl, no more than five years old, said to me, "Don't be mad at her, she's my friend."
I looked into her big brown, concerned eyes and was reminded of Brenda. I too, have someone in my life who has stood up for me, Brenda. She was my friend when I was different from everyone else and for that I am grateful. This headband is for her. A single flower with light and dark brown leather petals and accented with white mother-of-pearl beads.

Becky

ME: "Bless me, Becky, for I have sinned. It has been two weeks since my last confession."

BECKY: "What happened this time?"

ME: "I don't know. I don't think I have a good excuse. When I do it, I always tell myself that it's not that bad. That I deserve it and I just can't help myself."

BECKY: "I know. Go on."

ME: "This time it was as if they were staring at me, calling my name. I couldn't leave them there. I think they needed me as much as I needed them."

BECKY: "How much?"

ME: "$79.99, but they used to be $164...that's like half off right?"

BECKY: "It's reasonable. What do they look like?"

ME: "Remember those orange leather wedges we saw with the braided straw heel?"

BECKY: "No way!?"

ME: "I know right? I just don't know if I can justify it."

BECKY: "Oh, orange goes with everything and once it stops raining, Summer will be right around the corner. I bet you they go really well with jeans."

ME: "They totally go with jeans. They also go with this halter dress I saw but I didn't get. I want to go back."

BECKY: "When?"

ME: "I don't know, what are you doing after work?"

(END SCENE)

Guilt is deeply seeded within my moral register. Thirteen + years (including Kindergarten and college) of Catholic school will do that. Which is why I find it poetic and somewhat entertaining that I confess my deepest darkest secrets to a runaway, coffee-drinking Mormon: Becky. She understands me. She doesn't judge me. I can freely confide in her when I blow through money earmarked for debt reduction on a pair of cognac-colored riding boots without being reprimanded. She will aid and abet me in ordering enough to reach the minimum spending requirement for free shipping when I purchase online. She will even allow me to ship packages to her house so certain individuals will be none the wiser to my clandestine activities. Some would say that she is enabling me in my addiction but I choose to look at it another way, that sometimes true friendship is defined by co-conspiracy. Someone needs to cover your back when the po-po's on your tail. Every girl needs someone who will be on her side when she's in the trenches, my someone is Becky.
This necklace is for Becky. A multi-faceted turquoise bead bridged across gold chain because she sees all my facets; bad, guilty, mischievous, insidious, and occasionally good.

J.R.

Shhhhh! I think I have a girl crush. I love everything about J.R. Firstly, she effortlessly plays this indie-rocker-chick vibe that is just insanely enchanting: ballet flats, skinny jeans, black eyeliner, and feathered headbands. Very fashionable and very trendy but the way she wears it, you would think the trend originated with her. Secondly, I've never seen a day when her hair was not perfect. Even when it's messy, it's fantastic. In fact, I think it's better when it's messy.Thirdly, she has done the impossible and made karaoke cool in my book with her side of a duet of the best rendition of Endless Love that I have ever heard. (No offense to Ms. Ross.) Fourthly, she's wicked smart and has intentions to change the world for the better. Last summer, she flew to France for an internship with the International Human Rights Council. She sent back super chic, black-and-white artsy pictures of her being very European like riding a bicycle through the streets of Strasbourg in a skirt. This list goes on but I think the most fascinating thing is that she is actually my friend. I don't even think she knows how star-struck I feel around her. I was afraid to tell her because I thought it might make things a bit awkward. For instance, there was this time we were up in the city celebrating when I went outside to get some relief from the hot party air and I saw her with a cigarette. I normally do not condone this type of behavior in other people but she was just so beautiful haloed in streetlight illuminated smoke, that I "bummed" a cancer-stick off another friend and started smoking too. She made a comment, while still complimentary, amounted to the effect that it was very strange that I should have a cigarette in my hand. Color me caught in the act! I shall never smoke again. These earrings are my abstract of J.R.'s smokey halo. Three gray glass teardrops ever so slightly prismatic that are angled on silver circles so they flitter in response to her motion. I gave them to J.R. for her birthday on her last night in San Francisco. She lives in New York now. *Sigh*