Admitting defeat can be excruciating, but when you spend the vast majority of your young life raging war against ‘fitting in’ and obsessively declaring every personal detail that makes you ‘different,’ that pain is inevitable. I came to this conclusion this summer when I proudly set off on what I thought was an inspired DIY voyage toward the mystical island of homemade jewelry and realized that, much to my dismay, I am just as much a copy of the human prototype as anyone else.
My good friend Omar had recently gotten sick, and I, being the saintly companion that I am, joined forces with another close friend to create a wildly thoughtful care package. For my contribution, I haphazardly fashioned a black copper wire around a little granite stone from my rock collection — a collection that would undoubtedly make small children weep in admiration. It wasn’t until I strung the thin leather cord through the wire loop that I registered what I had done. I’d unconsciously created the type of Tumblr gold that trendy suburban youths lose their minds over.
What had I done? I stared nervously at the modish monster I’d unknowingly designed. I couldn’t give Omar this! He would never forgive me. Sure, it was gorgeous and surprisingly well-crafted, but nothing could ever make up for the sickening, oozing trendiness. The necklace stood as a symbol of the idea of thoughtless communal style and fashion that I’ve been vehemently against since I learned to dress myself years ago.
Without another thought I thrust the pendant out of sight and buried my head in the pillows on my bed, yearning for invisibility during that moment of shame. I tried everything in my power to forget about the vile crime of character I’d committed, but nothing I could do or say could wipe the ungodly image from my mind. It was branded into my memory like a nasty childhood nightmare.
The shame wore off after a few days. I still needed to contribute something to Omar’s package, and the image of the pendant ominously blocked any other potential ideas from passing through my mind. Once I had time to process, I decided to pull the pendant from the corner of my room where I threw it earlier and, to my surprise, I was astounded by its aesthetic appeal. Sure, it was trendier than anyone should ever be comfortable with, but it looked pretty cool and, by God, I made it! With my own two hands!
Swallowing my pride, I packaged the necklace in a little cardboard gift box, tied a ribbon around it and snuck it into the care package. When it made its way to Omar it was met with wild enthusiasm. He loved it and couldn’t wait to show it off the minute he felt better.
Naturally, I made about a million more of these necklaces over the next few weeks. I experimented with different cords and wires while reading up on the power of healing stones like amethyst, black tourmaline and uncut sapphire. I figured if I was going to embrace trendy youth culture, I may as well as go all the way and use those semi-precious stones as my muse.
The pendants trickled into my jewelry case one by one and, much to my surprise, found their way onto plenty of my outfits. By pairing them with more adult-like outfits I discovered that the necklaces added electric flair without being cliché.
I don’t even mind that they’ve established themselves as a semi-staple for me. With the right thought and care, homemade stone pendants can be fresh and unique. So why not make a trip to your local craft store? These necklaces aren’t going to make themselves.
@additakofficial