me and my late father
the jewelry that started it all
My father, Stanley, lost his battle with Carcinoid Cancer on October 24, 2005. At the funeral, the priest gave a rose from the casket spray as a keepsake to my mom, my two sisters and me. I wanted to find a special way to save the flower.
Knowing time was of the essence, I looked into freeze drying or preserving the flower in silica gel. This didn’t seem like the right solution. Then what do I do with this dry flower?
I remembered hearing about some nuns who make rose petal rosaries. That sounded great! After some research into that, I found that it takes at least a dozen roses to complete one rosary and getting the beads wet or exposing them to sunlight could destroy the beads. It seemed like a lot of money to spend on something that could be destroyed so easily. I longed for a way to preserve my flower in a durable way that I could enjoy every day.
After some further research and some experimenting, I created a way to embed crushed flowers into a clay base. The process creates light-safe and waterproof beads that could be enjoyed everyday. That was the answer!
The Christmas after my father died, we decided to give each other handmade gifts. I made a set of jewelry for my mom, two sisters, my aunt and my dad’s cousin. Word spread about the jewelry & I started getting requests to make jewelry for others. After an art show, flower petal jewelry expanded into adding other elements into clay or resin & custom map jewelry.
My father unknowingly gave me one last incredible gift, the inspiration for this company. Turning the most tragic time in my life into a company that will create special keepsakes for others has been an amazing journey and has helped me heal the grief. Thank you, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!