A Force Of Nature And A Force For Good - The Gemstone Bracelets
We have a little crystal shop in Weston super Mare called Rose and Amber. It’s a little Aladdin’s cave of magic, filled with gemstones of all sizes, shapes and colours and it’s a little haven to spend half and hour or so just browsing and learning about all the different crystals.
I’m fascinated by the healing properties of gemstones and, while I’m not sure if they’ve benefitted me, I love the idea that they could and certainly leave Rose and Amber with a sense of calm.
When our son was younger, we used to go to Rose and Amber and hold the little tumble stones in our palms. I’d let him choose a couple that he was drawn to and then, after we’d bought them, we’d go and get a hot chocolate and look up the meanings behind them.
Every time, those gemstones related to something he was going through at the time and he used to take one in his pocket to school to make him feel better that day.
I don’t know when or why I decided to start making gemstone bracelets; I guess I wanted to make something I could wear every day and, once I’d made a few for myself, people started asking me where I’d got them, so I started adding them to my shop.
My collection started with some well-known stones, such as Rose Quartz, Amethyst and Tigers Eye, followed by lesser-known stones with meanings I loved, such as Peach Moonstone (feminine energy), Mookaite (grounding) and Sodalite (helps you think clearly).
To this day, the most requested bracelets are Tigers Eye and Sodalite.
In 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, I came across some posts about pets being left behind as their owners had to flee for safety. As social media does, it sucked me down a rabbit warren of heart-breaking videos of tearful owners having to say goodbye to their beloved pets or refusing to leave the country to stay with them.
I looked down at my dog, Gizmo, and decided that I could donate some money to the charities supporting the animals as I couldn’t shift the idea of having to leave him behind. To donate more than I would have been able to on my own, I decided to donate £10 from each of my Calm in the Storm bracelets to two charitable organisations, Casa Lui Patrocle and IFAW, that were helping displaced animals, pets and their owners in war-torn Ukraine.
The response was incredible and I was able to donate a couple of hundred pounds to the charities thanks to my customers. Unfortunately, it wasn’t sustainable long-term for me to donate the proportion of sales that I had been, but I decided that even a little donation could make a difference somewhere and decided to donate 10% from the sale of any gemstone bracelet to charity.
As the Calm in the Storm bracelet was originally destined to help animals, I decided to continue to donate money from each sale of that particular bracelet to IFAW to help protect animals from war.
I put a lot of thought into which charity to donate to for the other bracelets, as there were many that had significance for me.
After a lot of back and forth, I decided to support Young Minds.
As you may or may not know, Pete and I adopted our son when he was six. He is now 14 and has absolutely thrived. However, we have experienced first-hand, both through our journey as adoptive parents and working in education, the trauma that so many young people face from an early age.
At a time where mental health issues are at their highest and government services are increasingly stretched to provide support, Young Minds is a beacon of hope for many young people and their families. Donations mean they can continue to support young people struggling with their mental health, support their families and carers and provide education and well-being tips.
I’m proud to give something back and hope the donations make a difference to a young person, or an animal, in need.
So this Christmas, if you’re looking to support small, shop local and donate to a worthy cause, my gemstone bracelets could be the perfect solution for you or a loved one. Take a look and tell me which is your favourite!
