A few days ago, I learned the true meaning of the word "serendipity."
I was opening the front door of the building where my writing group was gathering for the day when I saw a flyer on the wall. It seemed a local jeweler was going out of business half a block away.
Perfect! thought I, trotting off to the indicated address.
The lady going out of business - I'll call her Mary Ann - had a beautiful studio, full of lovely necklaces, earrings, and trays of pearls and semi-precious stones.
And they all had to go.
I came in looking for jewelry stands to display my earrings better for eBay photos. I ended up buying not just several stands, but also a few tools, some lengths of silver wire, and a few strands of semi-precious gemstones. I felt bad for Mary Ann. Her jewelry was really, really beautiful and original. In a decent economy, she would have been able to make a good living doing what she loved.
Mary Ann said she had to disassemble and sell piecemeal her whole store within a week. She was selling everything for pennies on the dollar - not just all her jewelry, but everything, from all her materials to her work desk and even some of her favorite tools. Everything that wasn't getting sold was going into her parents' basement. She said she was going out of business forever.
I offered to help her move, and she took me up on it. In the next few days, we hauled away a lot of garbage, disassembled a lot of shelves, and re-strung many strands of gems for resale. If I hadn't shown up, Mary Ann would've been doing it all alone. She had to let go all her staff some time earlier.
"I've been making jewelry since I was a teenager," she said. "It's going to be a big change."
When I had to leave yesterday, Mary Ann gave me a plastic tub full of odds and ends. Tools, plastic containers, books on jewelry making, and several ziplock bags full of pearls and stones that she couldn't put up for resale at bead stores because there weren't enough for a full strand. It was an unbelievably generous gift.
She said she was glad to be giving it to a fellow jeweler. "I'm passing the crown," she said.
Even though I felt a bit like Captain Jack Sparrow hauling away all that booty, I was pretty sad for Mary Ann. But for the grace of God, there went I. And who knows, there I may well go in the future. Jewelry is a luxury after all, not essential to daily life. Especially a daily life without a job but with a mortgage, credit card debt, and medical bills.
But jewelry designers are people too. Many of them had spent decades perfecting their craft; now they will have to take up other careers, often starting at the bottom rung, because they can't make a living anymore doing what they love and are good at.
I decided I'll keep at it as long as I can, learning new techniques and make new creative designs with the tools and materials got from my patroness. Even if they don't sell. I'll just stash them in one of the nice containers I got, to await their day.
I owe it to her.
Thank you, Mary Ann.