This piece turned out to have more of a story to it than I ever expected.
This week the world got a whole lot smaller when a customer called from the State of Qatar, near Saudi Arabia. She was an American living there, and she had just ordered a piece of my shard jewelry for her mom in Chicago.
“My mother is just going to die when she sees the piece I ordered for her.” I could picture the piece clearly… a white plate decorated with a golf ball, tee and a green with gilded golf clubs. It stuck in my mind because it was extremely durable china and was especially difficult to work with.
“Why is that?” I asked wondering, first, why I was getting a call from the Middle East, and second, why a golf pin/pendant would elicit such a strong reaction.
“She DESIGNED that china for Homer Laughlin!”
That was a first — the daughter of the designer of a china pattern just happening upon a piece of my jewelry featuring their pattern. I do commission pieces all the time where customers ask me to create jewelry out of something with sentimental value, but to have someone reunited with their design completely by accident is quite extraordinary.
I certainly didn’t expect that when I found the plate in a stack of chipped dishes in Palm Springs, CA.
From wakako:
serendipity…
everything happens for a reason:)
one more reason to come back to So Cal next winter!
-wakako
From Jen Leo:
I love it when the stories behind the art elevate the piece to exponentially meaningful levels.
From Kathleen Barrett:
Liam, I am the recipient of the Homer/Laughlin Golf Design jewelry piece. Yes, I was thrilled to receive it for “Mother’s Day”, not just for the design but more importantly, the love shared across the miles from my daughter in Doha, Qatar. I did not create the emblem for HL but for my own golf gift business. I had any number of clients asking for dinnerware with a golf motif. Of course we researched the Far East as a source of supply but ultimately turned to HL. They were American, priced right, could deliver quickly and had just introduced the microwaveable gold trim…perfect for the home and commercial use! That insignia was captured on several of our gift items, used as a logo and continues to be an important family treasure….THANKS….when next I am in WI., I will take the time to stop & shop! Best regards, Kathleen Barrett