Customs for Healing and Connection

Hello friends!

This is my first blog post, and likely to be one of the most vulnerable.

I wanted to share why I love doing customs, and also share the story of a custom ring I recently made myself that I think could be a new facet (pun intended) of my custom work, a powerful way for me to help others heal, celebrate and honor themselves.

I love making custom jewelry because it feels so intimate and special. I get a glimpse into your lives, your stories of love and celebration and what is important to you, and then I get to make jewelry that is uniquely for you that helps you tell your story to the world. Recently I have worked on wedding rings; wedding earrings; milestone birthday gifts; a necklace for a client that connects her to her grandmother, mother, sisters, and, in the future, will be an heirloom to future generations of her family…

One of my favorite things about jewelry is the ancient human tradition of wearing it as a way to celebrate special moments in life, and to connect with family, ancestors, and loved ones. It has been used in every culture throughout history in rituals and ceremonies, and also as an everyday expression of self. There can be so much meaning imbued in a piece of jewelry, and the pieces that are worn all the time eventually develop a patina with the nicks and dents that come along with daily life.

I am so honored when anyone trusts me to make these meaningful pieces for them.

Matte opal and 14k Ring

I recently made a special custom piece for myself- an opal and 14k gold ring that celebrates the growth and healing I’ve had in my journey as a mother, and reminds me of my connection the the ocean and moon. It serves as a reminder to follow my intuition and honor that I know what I need to heal, and to stay connected to my roots.

Five years ago, I had a pregnancy full of complications with my son that ended in almost three weeks of bed rest in the hospital, an emergency c-section, and a 2-months-premature baby who spent six weeks in the NICU and a couple months on oxygen after that (he’s very healthy now, luckily). It was extremely stressful and difficult, and I felt I didn’t have many choices in my care or how things played out. It left me feeling broken and vulnerable and disconnected from my power for a long time (the postpartum depression and PTSD symptoms didn’t help).

Then, right at the beginning of COVID, I found a benign rare tumor in my breast that needed to be removed. The incision got infected after the first surgery and I had second surgery almost two months later. Going through this while caring for our son full-time because his daycare closed, and dealing with the stress we were all going through due to the pandemic, left me more depleted and vulnerable. It took my body a long time to recover. I didn’t trust my body anymore and was struggling mentally and spiritually.

I had a realization that I needed the ocean and the land that raised me. I had to go, by myself. I managed to pull the trip together, including piecing together childcare so my husband could still work, in a couple days, and I hit the road, without any plans.

It was exactly what I needed. I swam in the ocean for hours every day, laid in the sand, climbed the boulders and trees in a favorite park by my childhood home, and and took in the very specific dry, sweet, salty smell of the plants and land there. I got to see/stay with some of my oldest friends, and my grandma. I did a ritual under the new moon at one of my favorite beaches to try to let go of the pain I had been in, and to reconnect with my strength and power and beauty, to learn to trust my body and my intuition again. A huge shooting star went across the sky in the middle of this ritual/prayer. I felt held and loved by the land, and by some of my favorite people. It was perfect. I went home feeling lighter, stronger, more at peace, ready for a new chapter.

Matte Opal and 14k Ring with Hannah Blount Grey Lady Ring

This ring celebrates the way I listened to what I knew I needed, and honored it. Opals always remind me of the ocean (my favorite, most healing place) as well as the moon and its relationship with the tides and my relationship to it as a woman. I wear this opal ring with a Hannah Blount ring that is a cameo of a peaceful, grounded woman with a diamond in her third eye. My husband gave it to me just after our daughter was born (I also decided on that trip that I wanted a second kid after a couple years of us not being sure, partially due to the difficulty of the first pregnancy and birth). Together they encompass this healing and trusting.

It feels really powerful to me that I invested in buying a really nice opal and casting this ring in gold with the intention of honoring myself and this part of my journey. It will serve as a reminder to continue to prioritize my healing and to always listen to my inner knowing.

I’ve been thinking about what it would look like to make jewelry celebrating more intimate, personal stories like this for others. I’m not sure exactly what the process would be, but I do have a list of questions I made for myself in the process of creating this ring to figure out my intentions for it. This process will require some vulnerability and trust, and I think it could be really powerful for others as it has been for me. I used to be a massage therapist specializing in craniosacral therapy before I started making jewelry, and I feel like making jewelry to assist others in their healing paths could help blend those two parts of my life. It would be a collaborative journey to make you an extremely personal piece of jewelry full of the intention of honoring your unique life experiences and lessons.

Do you have anything like this that you’d like to honor and celebrate with a piece of custom jewelry? I would love to hear your thoughts.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading! It means a lot to be able to share about this phase of my life, and what has come from it on the other side of the grief and hardship. Please reach out at any time- I’d love to connect.