ABOUT THE DESIGNER…“I grew up in a home some might consider a bit noisy with lots of music, pets and…BABIES!”
I’ve always held a special place in my heart for babies. Seeing how fast my babies were growing-up awakened me to relive their infancy so vividly. This bittersweet reminiscing prompted me to design jewelry for mom – no matter how old my children are they will always be the baby in my heart. My greatest gifts are my children ~ my love for them inspired my first design A Mother’s Heart. My wish for my design is that it reaches deep into the hearts of all who see it, just as I have reached deep into my heart to create it.
Being raised always baking and making things ~ I developed a passion for many arts & crafts. Designing jewelry for mom wasn’t a lifelong ambition of mine; it actually found me. I had to learn the business overnight; it’s a competitive industry. I would compare the process I experienced to learning how to swim by being thrown into the river. If I had known up front all the steps and obstacles to overcome it may have discouraged me and there might not be a Heartbeat Designs today ( Founded 1999).
The inspiration for My Baby Angel was due to a miscarriage ~ and a call from others to create a memorial charm to help those suffering the heartbreak of child loss. I receive touching emails from parents who claim that wearing my charm provides them comfort – a feeling that their baby’s spirit is always with them...lost babies are held in our hearts forever.
My next design happened unexpectedly. While surfing the net for memorabilia for the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” I stumbled upon Karolyn Grimes – the child actress who played “Zuzu Bailey”…”Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings.” As a result of our chance meeting, I was commissioned by the actress to design the only endorsed charm in tribute to the classic. The Zuzu Gift Set consists of a sterling silver bell with wings and a chain. This enchanting charm is in a pretty organza pouch with 3 silk rose petals…”Zuzu’s petals.”
My family and I live in the country with our rescued pets. Our latest rescue pup “Zuzu“ is a smart mini collie designer hybrid. We also have a sweet cat named Mimi and a very clever and wacky cockatoo parrot named Otis. Other interests and hobbies I enjoy are integrative & holistic healing, nutrigenomics, clean organic eating, cooking, gardening, interior design, all genres of music, playing the piano, volunteering, nature walks, bicycling, writing poetry and short stories. My newest hobby is hand raising butterflies, which inspired me to cast & sculp clay butterflies. I’ve now added hummingbirds, horses, alpacas, seahorses, starfish and other magical creatures to my clay sculpting. I gild and embellish them to look like fine jewelry… “always do things that make you happy and happy you’ll always be.”
Life is about joy & peace. It’s also about change and transformation, like a butterfly. Nothing brings me more peace than my hummingbird and butterfly gardens.
One of my favorite positive affirmations… “If you can dream it, you can achieve it.”
“I dreamed a dream ~ took the plunge ~ and it came true.”
