Why Jewelry Is a Girl's Best Friend - and Why It's Even Better for Jewelry Artists

by Janine Gerade
(www.JanineDesign.com)

I look at the silver bracelets on my arm. One says my daughter's name in silver blocks, silver tubes and crystals. One is just a simple Rollo chain with crystals. Why do I wear these? They make me feel special.

I also like to wear a special piece of jewelry just in case I run into someone who wants to see what I have made. I am a walking catalog and I feel very lucky because I get to wear these pieces anytime I want.

For jewelry artists there's a special relationship we have with our jewelry that we sell. It's like fostering kittens. At some point we have to give them to new homes.

Some artists have an issue with this, I used to. But if I love the piece that much it will be a new challenge to me to make a new one EVEN BETTER!

Jewelry making is therapeutic for us girls too. Not just the pieces themselves being magnetic and made with healing stones but the process of making the jewelry is good for the soul.

Mixed bead whimsical bracelet by Janine Gerade.

Have you ever looked at a piece of jewelry and remembered a moment in time when you were making that piece? It's like a snapshot in your head.

I have a detailed seed bead necklace in electric blue. I remember commuting to work on the commuter train and people periodically asking me what kind of project I was working on. The train ride was long and the beading project kept me sane.

I also remember beading a bracelet in pretty chocolate colors and brushed silver accents. I was sitting next to my husband in the hospital. He had an intestinal problem, which has since solved, but he was in there for a week. I was so worried, but the beads kept me centered.

I recall once, making my first piece of jewelry a few weeks after giving birth to my daughter.

Even though my new role of mother was amazing but a little overwhelming at first, I knew I was still I and I still had a little time to make something. As the weeks went by, then months, I have been able to carve out time for jewelry.

Not only do we have the gift of making these beauties for friends, or our community, but also we get to see the beauty appear before us as we create these pieces.

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with an idea or in the shower (why do I always get my ideas in the shower with no pen and paper??) - Will have to use my daughter's tub markers sometime!

Jewelry making is like a best friend. Always there when you need it. There when you need to take a break and decompress.

I have been so busy lately with motherhood, day-to-day activities and part time jobs I sometimes forget to make a piece or two.

This is when I really need to remind myself that when the baby naps, kids are at school or you are on your lunch break, it's time to bring out the beads, the clay, the whatever and create.

Janine Gerade
JMG Designs Handcrafted Jewelry