GS: Just when I thought I was out...

They pull me back in (said with clenched fists.)




That famous line from the Godfather couldn't be more true in my life right now. The past couple of months I have been working on closing my custom jewelry business (which I am referring to as a "Sabbatical" because hopefully some day I will open the shop again) and it has proven to be way more work than I would ever have imagined. And I'm finding it mentally exhausting (hence no blog posts.)

I put an end date of May for taking any new custom jobs and I have been very good about sticking to that with strangers... but I'm a sucker for my friends. Give me a sob story, tell me you love my work, tell me that you can't imagine getting your wedding bands from anybody but me, and I'll give in. And while I hesitantly say yes, and love you dearly, it pretty much sucks.

It took so damn long to come to the conclusion that I was taking this sabbatical, that I really want to be done in the shop. I want to move onto the next chapter... whatever that may be... and I'm currently stuck in a horribly messy shop limbo. Honestly, I think it's more work attempting to close the shop than it was trying to keep it open!

But I finally took my ABSOLUTE LAST JOB! And I had a fabulous past client (who I kept as a friend) come to me begging for an engagement ring for her brother in Trinidad. I first said no... but then the compliments started flying and that damn cute accent and my head started spinning and before I knew it, I said yes to ONE LAST JOB. I did set some ground rules though, I show a few designs I had tucked away in my book (for a rainy day) and whichever is the right direction, I can just go ahead and build.

So... the end is in sight. There is a light shining at the end of the tunnel. Still don't know what's on the other side, but I can't wait to find out!

GS: Sometimes love isn't up to me

I always say I love to make love happen. Unfortunately, sometimes it's not up to me.

Every once in a great while an engagement or marriage doesn't work. It's a fact of life. And unfortunately, this weekend I found out 2 of my client's relationships are over. And I was devastated. I know this is strange, but I invest a great deal into making these marriages happen. I know, I know, in the whole grand scheme of things, this is a drop in the bucket. But I spend so much time with either one or both people in the relationship that I like to think I helped move their relationship onto the next step in their lives.

I get to know them on a personal level. I hear stories... about how they met, what they do, where they live, trips, family, what they love about each other... it goes on and on. And all of this is taken into consideration when I design and build their piece of jewelry, their something special. And I'm not sure how or where, but during this whole process of building my jewelry company, I became really empathetic.

So, when a relationship ends, it effects me. I think it really just comes down to the fact that I think my clients are very special. You have to be a special person to want to spend weeks designing a ring... getting everything just perfect. I'm not saying that they care more than people who buy rings out of the case, but lots of them pay attention to the little details.

Please don't get me wrong... I'm not completely self absorbed. I know the universe doesn't revolve around me. I just feel for these people. Everybody deserves to be happy, and that's all I want. Is that asking too much?