Thursday, November 13, 2008

Thanks for the Memories


Last week's post got me thinking just generally about the sentimental value of beads and how we commemorate special occasions with beads or jewelry. I dug around in my stash and came up with these - a carved Japanese boxwood bead and a set of three raku beads. They're a pretty nondescript collection, but they have a lot of sentimental value to me. You see, I bought them during my honeymoon in Hawaii.

My husband and I were married on the Big Island of Hawaii several years ago. Neither one of us had ever been to Hawaii, but we liked the thought of having our wedding there (and thereby making the islands special for us in that way). Also, as I think I've said a gazillion times already on this blog (not that I dwell on the issue or anything), the Husband wasn't interested in wearing a suit to the wedding, so I told him that showing up barefoot in casual clothes would be fine with me if we actually held the ceremony on the beach in Hawaii. We ended up marrying four years and 364 days after our first meeting. It made the anniversary slightly easier to remember, although one of us has always suspected the other party of arranging things so as to be able to claim that we married within four years of meeting rather than five. Some people are just naturally suspicious that way.

After the ceremony, we stayed at the resort for another week to relax and tour around. Despite the fact that we were on our honeymoon, and despite the fact that I wasn't even really designing jewelry back then, I still managed to locate and spend time in the one bead store on the island (whose name completely escapes me - anyone know of it?). I had never seen Japanese boxwood beads before, so I was completely smitten by how intricately carved the beads are. Also, I've always loved raku pottery, so I gravitated pretty naturally to those three beads. This small collection is still a really a nice memento of our time in Hawaii, and I know, once I design with them, that whatever piece I make will continue to serve as a reminder of a particularly happy event in my life.

I have to imagine that most of us search out beads and bead stores (or yarn and yarn stores - or both, come to think of it) when we travel. What are your favorite beady mementos from trips? I'd love to know.

Thanks for visiting!

6 comments:

Ring by Ring Designs said...

Funny thing about memories. I had a similar post about the shell jewelry my Mother made.
Love the beads you showed. Easy to be special to you. Nice.
Bev

Anonymous said...

There are certain beads that I find it really hard to "part with" even if I'm making jewelry that I intend to keep!

Andrew Thornton said...

Isn't Hawaii just magical? Of course, I went to go for a bead show and not get married off, so it's probably not as special to me as it is for you, but it has definitely left an impression on me. Below is a link to a piece that I made to commemorate my trip to Hawaii.

http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/2008/10/hawaii-on-my-mind.html

I think perhaps one of my most favorite beads is one that I got from Anne Choi. My sister and I went to visit her earlier this year and it was truly a magical visit. I am deeply in love with her beads. It's almost an obsession of mine. So, to go to where they are made and see the process and be there... it was utterly divine. I can't express just how amazing it was. I will never part with my Anne Choi beads. Never. They'll have to pry them from my dead, cold hands. Even then they'd have to fight off my ghost.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure if I travel looking for beads or my passion for beads make me go on the hunt, but either ways I have collected a large treasure trove of beads and jewelry pieces...

I would have to say that some of my most memorable ones are unique silver and gold beads from Bali, Indonesia.......

Melissa J. Lee said...

Hey Andrew, I love your work, as always. Your posts on your recent trip to Hawaii made me drool. We were supposed to go back before the SO was born, but I was put on bed rest and it never happened. One day we'll take him there, though...

Hi Rupa, I seem to recall that you had an absolutely gorgeous prayer wheel bead in one of your designs sometime last year. I can't remember what magazine that was in, though - BeadStyle, probably?

RupaB said...

Hi Melissa, thank you for your comments on my necklace, it is actually quite pretty if I may say so myself!

The Prayer Wheel necklace was published by Bead Style in the Nov 2008 issue.