I am perpetually shocked about my success with Makings By Bee!
I don't say that (and continue to repeat) for sympathy or encouragement...I am sincerely shocked!
This accidental business continues to be one of the biggest surprises in my life!
If someone told me 10+ years ago that I'd start my own small business, design jewelry and have some success - I would have laughed my face off!
I have always liked jewelry but I've never been a girly girl.
I had different dreams and ambitions for my career, God had another plan.
Makings By Bee has been more fulfilling than any career ambitions I had planned for myself.
After Makings By Bee was up and running, I started (and continue) to donate strands to groups and organizations to assist with fundraisers. Using my talent, time and supplies to "give back" is one small way to show my gratitude for this blessing while "paying it forward."
I donated the necklace pictured below to "The Women of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Franklin TN" group for a December 2014 fundraiser. The St. Paul's parishioner who won/purchased the necklace gifted it to her daughter-in-law.
5 months later, I received an e-mail inquiry from Jody about how to purchase a necklace from Makings By Bee. Jody is friends with the family who bought (and gifted) my donated necklace. Once Jody saw the necklace in person, she wanted to own a Makings By Bee original strand for herself. The part of this story that surprises me is that Jody asked for a necklace for her birthday . For someone who talks A LOT, this rendered me speechless.
Jody was interested in a piece that had similar elements to the donation necklace, pictured above. As I tout, each piece is 100% unique due to the vintage and antique elements that I incorporate into every necklace so I couldn't replicate initial necklace. Two elements that Jody wanted were: a section of pearl chain and a ring in the front. I could fulfill that request! The final result of Jody's unique strand is pictured and described below.
Thank you Jody for including me in the celebration of your birthday, I am truly honored!
- 28” combination chain. 9” 1950s Japanese glass “pearl” chain. 14” vintage, silver, twisted link chain. 5” antique silver rolo chain. Chain is completed with a large lobster clasp in the back.
- Rare, signed, vintage (1950-1970) Tacoa brooch attached to antique bronze hammered ring. Circles in jewelry, especially rings, symbolize eternity, which means there is no end. A circle is often worn to symbolize eternal love. Just as you cannot find the beginning and ending of the circle in a pendant, love has no beginning or end.
- Antique skeleton key. “Keys have always been endowed with a certain sort of magic. They have the power to reveal things that were unknown or obscured before. Even the word ‘key’ means a tool that opens physical, intellectual, or spiritual barriers. A key can give access to riches and treasure, or it might keep safe closely guarded secrets, as in the legend of Pandora’s Box. Locks and keys can also be used to protect one’s most valued belongings or to secure the gates of a walled city, so having a key is both a symbol of trust and conquest. Back in the day, keys were used as a means to flaunt your wealth, as they indicated you had something worth stealing. Metaphorically, a key can expand knowledge.” Keys in jewelry are also used to symbolize ideas such as the “KEY to one's heart”, the “KEY of life”, hard work is the “KEY of success”, etc.
- Vintage brass dog charm with a Southwest Indian design.
- Silver toned metal guitar pendant.
- Vintage blue mother-of-pearl disk. “Mother of Pearl is a stone of protection and brings the gentle healing power of the sea. It is a stress relieving stone; relaxing, soothing and calming to the emotions. Mother of Pearl stimulates our intuition, imagination, sensitivity and adaptability. It helps our emotions become more harmonious and balanced and enables you to more easily express feelings of love. Mother of Pearl is also known to provide clarity in decision making and is helpful for endurance, organization and for home life.”
- Vintage Cloisonné pendant. Cloisonné is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects. The earliest surviving examples are six 13th-century BC Mycenaean rings. The technique reached its peak in the West during the Byzantine Empire.
- 2 Vintage freshwater pearls. Pearls are the “stone of sincerity,” known to alleviate emotional imbalances, enhance personal integrity, wisdom and assist emotional expression. Specifically, white pearls are a symbol faith, innocence and of a pure heart and mind.
- Vintage quartz crystal bead. Quartz crystal is the most common stone on the planet. Quartz is a power stone and known to some as the “universal stone.” Quartz is a stone of clarity which dispels negativity and clears away negative energy. It can be used to purify and clarify on the spiritual, mental, and physical planes.
- Hammered antique copper heart pendant. Copper is elemental in nature and is said to promote love, sensuality, friendship, negotiations and peace. Copper is known to Shamans and Healers as a metal that balances the body’s polarities, thereby removing blockages which are responsible for illness or imbalance. Copper is healing for the mind, body and spirit.
- Blue quartz, Swarovski-type, faceted bead. This rich blue coloring is used to represent a sapphire, September’s birthstone.
- Vintage 925 sterling silver heart charm with rhinestones. Silver, elemental in nature, is a symbol of strength. It fosters hope, meditation and unconditional love. The rhinestones on the heart stand in representation of diamonds, April’s birthstone.
