One of the perks of selling quirky charms is sometimes being privileged to hear personal little stories which are linked to the charms my customers have chosen to buy.
Recently a lady asked for five Silver London Bus charms. This is quite a popular charm but as she was buying five in one go, my curiosity was piqued and I asked her why she was buying so many of this one charm. She told me that she had made good friends with a group of girls 20 years ago in Bangkok in Thailand. Since then they had all moved to different parts of the world. Before they left they all bought a silver charm bracelet and agreed that each time they met they would buy a charm to commemorate the occasion. This time they were meeting in London so the iconic London bus was the perfect choice. She told me they each had about 10 charms from all over the world marking each of their rendevous.
Back in 2015 one of my oldest customers got in touch with a very special order. One of her close friends was having a rough time with a divorce and she wanted this friend to know that her friends were there for her. She asked me to put together a cluster of bird charms, each one representing one of the group, to wear on a necklace. There was a Blue Tit on a Milk bottle charm for the one who like a drink, an Owl charm for the wise one, a white Swan Charm for the one who loves her fake tan and a Cockerel charm, (I am not going into that one!) I put the cluster together and sent it off to her friend. I hope it gave her a little bit of a boost to know she had a 'top group of birds' behind her ready to fly to see her whenever she needed them.
One of dearest customers lives in New York and has been putting together a charm bracelet to remember a trip of a lifetime to South Africa. She has chosen our Giraffe Charm, Hippo Charm, Leopard Charm, Rhino Charm and African Elephant Charm.
Recently she has commissioned a very special piece which is the continent of Africa with the longitude and latitude lines and the special Ulusaba Sands Wildlife Park where she saw these animals mark with an emerald. A truly stunning piece. What a wonderful bracelet this will be to remember her trip.
Finally, a bit of romance. I was contacted earlier in the year to ask whether our Swan charm could be made into earrings. No problem! I made a set for a pair of swan earrings with a swan charm necklace and the recipient was thrilled. She told me that her husband had written a love letter when they were courting and described her, '...as proud as a peacock, as graceful as a swan, as wild as storm. To celebrate their anniversary he commissioned a special earring and pendant set to her design to signify the storm. No wonder she held on to him!!!
I hope you have enjoyed reading these little tales. In my mind they portray exactly what charm bracelets are all about. Whether the charm has been specially commissioned or just chosen to represent: a good friend, an event or to express a feeling, it becomes a personal piece of jewellery which will always be treasured.
Thank you to my customers who have chosen to share their stories with me.