Guided Experience Memorial Reliquary Pendant

The Guided Experience 

The "Guided Experience Making" custom jewelry (GEM)was born out of a desire to help others experience the catharsis that comes from creating something with your own two hands and heart- imbuing it with love and emotion. 

I started making this type of jewelry after the loss of a special dog, Gonzo.  

The day came when I couldn't quite remember the texture of his fur, or the way he smelled, or exactly what his bark sounded like.

The ache of his absence was already nearly unbearable:  This forgetting of all his "dogness" shattered me. 

Creating a piece of jewelry- something tangible- helped me feel a physical connection to him.

 

It gave me a container:  A way to hold those memories.  A way to touch them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I realized:  Jewelry is powerful. 

The first memorial piece I made for someone else was for someone who had lost his dog and admired my reliquary.  He asked me to make one for his wife.

The front had a picture of their dog. It contained his ashes and was sealed with an enameled disc in a deep burgundy- the same color as his collar.

After he’d presented it to his wife, he emailed me to say that when she opened it, she told him it was “the most thoughtful gift he’d given her in their 20 plus years of marriage”

That’s the moment something shifted. 

I have a masters degree in social work, but quickly burnt out after a stressful job as a children's crisis clinician. 

I became a social worker because I wanted to help people.

I became a metalsmith because I needed to help myself.

But I'd discovered the catharsis that comes through creation- both in making and receiving meaningful jewelry- and I realized that through metal forged by hand and heart, I could help people in an incredibly meaningful way.

And now I want to offer that experience to you.

This is not a jewelry making workshop.  It's not a class or a lesson.  You're not "learning to make jewelry", rather you are participating in making something deeply personal and important.

It’s custom jewelry with a twist, because it's done in person.  You will be there right along side me, making design decisions in real time.  It's hands on, with you being able to do as much or as little of the actual making of the reqliquary as you feel comfortable, with me right by your side guiding you every step of the way.  

Through this collaborative experience, you will give yourself the time and space to both process the strong emotions associated with loss and grief as well as create a vessel for those memories and feelings.

It's not therapy, though it's therapeutic.  There is catharsis in creating a tangible talisman.

To get started, book a free 30 minute call to get all your questions answered.

GEM is about connection:  Connection to and with your personal story and creating a piece to tell it.

It’s about going deep, feeling your feelings and expressing them through creation.

This is an in person custom reliquary.  You'll join me in my studio in Vermont, where together we will create a piece of jewelry touched by your hands and heart.

I've been making jewelry for over 15 years, and specialize in memorial jewelry- lockets, reliquaries and sentimental pieces filled with meaning and memory.

This experience is all about YOU and what you need and it starts with a video call where you can tell me your story and the piece of jewelry you’d like to tell it

This is not limited to just create a piece to memorialize a pet. The reliquary can be in honor of a person, a place, or even a special time. 

We've made reliquaries with a beloved grandfathers beloved plaid shirts enshrined behind the glass.  Vessels with sand from the beach she went to as a kid.  A coffee bean to represent the hours of connecting with a dear friend over a hot drink.

Hair, soil, crystals, sand, fur, ashes, beans.  It all becomes as precious as a gem through loss.  

“The best way out is always through”. Robert Frost

 

To get started, book a free 30 minute call to get all your questions answered.

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