Handmade Jewelry - Confessions of a Gemstone Junkie

I have a confession. I have a serious habit. I love to buy and work with gemstone beads. It's an occupational hazard. Actually it's the whole reason I design and make jewelry.

I like gemstones, making them into jewelry and passing them on. I'm really captivated by the beauty of gemstones. Gemstones are only one example of nature's endless treasures.

I've had a thing about gemstones all my life. It's always been hard for me to walk past a jewelry store without stopping to inspect every piece of jewelry in the window. This has often been quite annoying for the people I'm with. Sometimes I go into a jewelry store and if I'm really lucky the person in the store will take me on a little tour of all of the jewelry. I try on necklaces and bracelets. Sometimes we just start at one end of the store and make our way around to the other. Obviously the people who take me on these tours love the jewelry as much as I do and are having a slow day.

Gem shows bring out my compulsion more than anything. When I go to a show I go into a kind of altered state and want to buy every bead there. Usually husband is with me he will throw in a voice of reason, and I'll realize that that which I thought was so beautiful really isn't. It's good to have an unaddicted person with you when you're in the midst of temptation.

Unique and rare stones are my favorite. Over the past couple of years I've purchased a bit of rare American turquoise from mines that have been closed for years. My logic is that it's a good investment. At least it may not be a bad one and I get to make jewelry out of these beads. I love passing them on. So I'm doing what I love to do.