Small-world bracelet

Here's a six-degrees story for you: Stacy, our copy editor at BeadStyle and Bead and Button, brought in this bracelet she received as a gift six years ago.

The connection: I made the bracelet, years before we knew each other. Her friend bought it at M.E. Lou (a Brookfield boutique where I used to work). And yes, that's the original tag that went with it.

Who knew that Stacy and I would end up working in offices right across from each other? Things were so different in 2002, back when I stored all my findings in 35mm film canisters and she was just graduating from high school.

About the bracelet: I've always been fond of tanzanite crystals (and I remember liking the 6mm alexandrite Czech fire-polished glass beads, too). If I made this today, I'd use a lobster claw (instead of a spring clasp), and I'd probably use more aquamarine chips — they're so subtle, you can barely seem them.

Stacy still likes the bracelet. That's one of the perks of making jewelry — years later, having a connection with people who wear my designs.