For me, gift giving has become a watered down experience since shopping for jewelry has made me weary. Most merchandise looks the same and if it doesn’t, the price is ridiculous whether or not the item is desirable. Most jewelry is being manufactured now in batches and duplicates by someone I don’t even know, and will probably never meet let alone talk to. Who are these people and where do they live?

I know crafty people who make crafty gifts catered to the recipient’s tastes! My daughter makes earrings and necklaces for her girlfriends, who are always thrilled to wear her personalized art pieces. These talented craftspeople are to be respected, if not worshipped for their saintly pursuits. I mean really. Who has the time? Which leads me to discuss the subject of this long-winded dissertation, I design it. The artist makes it. This is what “custom designed, handcrafted” means. And if you look online, you will find many resources for handcrafted custom jewelry.

I like the idea of working with an experienced craftsman, who not only has the time and talent, but the desire (if not the obsession) to make jewelry, beautiful jewelry, wonderful, magical jewelry. The very pieces of personalized jewelry I seek as gifts for the loved one’s in my life. I can see the two us, the craftsman at his workbench, and I with a picture in my mind working together to alter the blueprint for my plan just enough to make the creation feasible. But, I have never pursued this dream of mine as I simply assumed the cost would be way over my budget.

I have discovered and want to share with you that a custom designed product does not necessarily mean an expensive product. As I stated before, the craftsman who will be skillfully handcrafting my jewelry piece is an artist. He wants to make my jewelry. And he has never seen a design quite like mine. He is excited, even anxious to get started. If you come across one who isn’t, keep looking. There are many willing artists to interview. He will be willing to negotiate a price just to have the opportunity to make something he has never made before. Who knows, his customer may have come up with a design that he would not have created without her. And this design could become wildly popular-you get where this is headed, don’t you? The relationship between customer/designer and artisan has deepened. We contribute to each other and a quality piece of jewelry art is born at the agreed upon price.

I am already dreaming of the next handcrafted, custom design I will manifest. It is a titanium ring with my daughters name engraved on the outside. Fitted for her pinky finger and flush set with a delicate blue sapphire. The words “My One And Only…” engraved inside the band. I can already see the look on her face!

- Susan J Eksyma

Really this holiday is exceptional because it is an opportunity to stop and think about what your partner, spouse, girlfriend, or lover, if you will, means to you. Think about the impact this day can have on the rest of your lives together. It is a whole day for lovers. It is a day that invites us to be ridiculously in love with full permission to express it! How cool is that? Our everyday lives can take some of the zest out of romance if not remove it completely if we let it. I mean, who has time to create romance? Valentine’s Day is the day to create time for love.

This could be the year to start your Valentine’s Day tradition and this is my invitation to all of us to step into the air of love. Give hugs; give flowers, cards, chocolates and jewels. Give compliments, it is so easy to be generous. We have nothing to lose on a holiday that just begs us to make fools of ourselves.

As I write this I am dreaming of candles, music, a stroll on a wooded knoll. I will gaze deeply into my husband’s eyes and remember the first time I met him. I want to tell him he is everything to me and without him I would be lost. I am a fool in love and if I don’t tell him now, Valentine’s Day will pass and I will again be pulled into the daily routine, on the hamster wheel of life and the moment will be lost. Valentine’s Day is in itself a gift to us all. Start your new tradition of giving this year and feel the love!

- Susan J Eksyma