Jewelry can seem like such a petty thing. It’s a possession that people pay tons of money for and sometimes only wear once. It can enhance your appearance, emulate a specific identity for yourself, or draw the eye to you. All of these things can be true, but I love seeing jewelry not as something that improves the way you already look, but rather something that emphasizes it. Something I really love about jewelry is that it can carry memories. My grandmother recently went through a few of her old jewelry boxes with me and gave me a few of what used to be every day accessories for her. As she pulled out each piece, she had a specific memory attached to each one. It was so special for me to receive jewelry that my grandmother had once worn. My boyfriend, Dex, loves Haiti. He has visited multiple times, sponsors several Haitian children, and plans to work towards the betterment of the lives of the Haitian people for the rest of his days. He has truly invested in this country. He has become a part of it, and it has become a part of him. Before he went on his most recent trip, I made necklaces for Rouslie and Saraline, the sweet girls he sponsors. I put them in a jewelry box I wasn’t getting much use of and gave it to Dex. While we were catching up about his trip and talking about his visits, he asked, “Remember those pearl earrings that were in the box with the necklaces you made for the girls?” I tried to rattle my brain. Pearl earrings; when did I make pearl earrings? I replied, “I really don’t remember. Why?” He said, “Saraline loved them so much, so I gave them to her. She wore them every day.” He showed me a picture of her wearing the earrings and I realized that those were the same pearl earrings that my grandma had given me just a few months before. Apparently I didn’t take them out of the jewelry box when I was emptying it! I was ecstatic. She looked so happy wearing them. She wasn’t happy because of the earrings, but she was happy in the earrings. She wasn’t beautiful because of the earrings, the earrings looked beautiful because she was wearing them. Those pearls had seen decades of memories. They’d seen tears, laughter, smiles, anger, hugs, fear, romance, new lives being born, old lives passing away – years of memories were held within the white spheres that Saraline now wears on her own ears, making her own memories. I like to think that one day, Sara will pass them on to someone special to her. This is why I create; to make something that you can experience beautiful moments in so that whenever you wear them, you can experience the beauty all over again. - HBG
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December 2016
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