I've never made it a secret that I really enjoy doing custom work. Collaborating with someone else on a design forces me outside my comfort zone and gets me to think in ways I normally don't. While sometimes I create designs that I don't care for and will probably never make again, more often than not I create something new and different that I'll make again and again. My long necklaces came to being in this way. A good friend of mine saw some of my new pearls and asked if I'd make her a necklace with them, and she wanted it to be sternum length. I made the necklace, sold it and didn't think anything else of it. Until I was sitting with another customer who saw my practice strand from that necklace and loved it, so, now I make long necklaces. It all started with that custom order.
Since then I've done many custom orders, but recently I got to do one that really stood out! A woman I go to church with approached me about making a custom necklace for her daughter. Her daughter, she explained, had just made the decision to accept Christ. As she was just 7 years old, her mother wanted to get her a necklace to commemorate it, so that when she was older she wouldn't question her decision, she would have something tangible to remind her. She wanted the verse 1 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." Butterflies are often associated with this verse because they become a new creation when they transform from a caterpillar into a butterfly. She wanted these two things incorporated in the necklace.
So here was my challenge: a necklace that would be appropriate for a child but would still be appropriate when she became an adult, butterfly themed, includes the date, includes 1 Corinthians 5:17, and must be pink. It was a tall order, but I was up for the challenge!
The main theme of the necklace was the butterfly, so I started there. I created a few hammered wire pieces. As I was perusing the internet for ideas, I found a ton of images of butterfly wings. They looked much more adult than the other butterfly necklaces I had looked at. I went back to my sketch book and started sketching out wings and trying out different wire forms. What I ended up with was a steel outline of a butterfly wing with button seed pearls and light pink crystals strung within it. I would be lying if I didn't say I was really proud of it!
With a few different options for the butterfly element of the piece I moved on to the next part of the challenge. I had to think of a way to have the date and verse incorporated. I had been looking at some different metal stamping and engraving tools but had yet to pull the trigger on any of them, with this order it felt like a good time to invest. I ordered an engraver and some blank metal tags.
With the two main elements of the necklace more or less worked out, I began sketching some options for the mom. One with a butterfly shaped tag, one with my wire butterflies, one with the wing. I presented her with everything I came up with, my sketches, the tags, the wire designs, the wing, and all the pink and white pearls and crystals I had. She picked my favorite, it was the wing!
I left the meeting beaming! Not only had I made my client happy, I was making a piece that had more meaning than probably any of my other pieces. I hoped this little girl would cherish and keep this necklace for the rest of her life. It would serve as a reminder of the most important and meaningful decisions she'd ever make. It also served as a symbol of her mothers love for her. This woman had gone out of her way to have a custom necklace made for her daughter, something of value that little girls rarely get until they're older. I feel privileged to have taken part in this.
Now to make the necklace! I engraved my tags with the text we'd agreed on, and pulled out a selection of the pearls and crystals that went best together. I stuck with the basic design of the sketch, making little changes as needed, making sure it was both child and adult friendly. What I got in the end was one of my favorite pieces I think I've ever made!
When I presented the finished necklace to my client, she actually cried! Grant it, there were other reasons for her tears, but my creation still brought it all up! I expressed how grateful I was that she'd come to me for this, and how much I'd enjoyed making it.
In case you were wondering, I have made more of my butterfly wings! You can find this one on Etsy:
If you are interested in a similar piece to the custom one above, please send me a message, either through the contact form on this blog, or on
Facebook,
Etsy, or my
Website!
