*CUSTOM MADE* Preserving Memories of Your Loved Ones in Jewelry or Sun Catchers

ARTICLE PROVIDED BY WWW.SUZANPETERSEN.COM

My husband showed me this article  "Preserving Memories of Your Loved Ones" within jewelry and/or sun catchers printed in the Costco Magazine. I knew it was something I wanted to share with all of you.  There have been so many death's recently that this could be a special gift for someone you love or even for yourself. 
COPIED FROM ITS WEBSITE

While grief is as individual as the number of people on the earth, one common reaction to the loss of a loved one, be it human or pet, is the wish to have some personal memento to remember the life now gone. Linda Markellis and Krista Johnson, a mother-daughter team in Whitefish, Montana, have been providing just such mementoes across the country through their hand-crafted glass Memorials and "Living Keepsakes." Each custom Glass Pendent, Sun Catcher, Pyramid, Treasure Box, piece of jewelry, or specially made light can contain a snippet of hair or the ash "cremains" of a loved one - or may contain nothing at all, but simply serve as a personal reminder and celebration of a life which was loved. Each unique item is produced only after close consultation with the client making the order, so that the finished piece is truly representative of the person or pet memorialized.

Over the Rainbow Memorials is an unusual business with an unusual beginning. Linda & Krista had long sold their hand-crafted glass jewelry throughout the country. It may have been pure serendipity when a friend asked if they could put some of the ashes of her beloved, newly deceased dog into some kind of jewelry to wear on her wedding day. After much trial and error in dealing with the vast difference in physical properties between ash and glass and working with the different cooling rates between the two elements, Linda & Krista were able to provide the bride with a delicate glass bead bracelet so that her dog could, in that way, be present at her wedding.

Word of mouth took over from there, and more and more people were asking that their pets be memorialized in this way. It was probably just a matter of time before it occurred to someone that this was also a beautiful, original and personal way to memorialize people who had passed on. To their surprise, Linda & Krista discovered that in 2007 most of their business came from "people" customers rather than "pet" customers.

Both mother and daughter have an unassuming and gentle way of listening closely to each customer, able to discern what is truly important to include in the memorial or keepsake. The ability to listen combined with a compassionate attitude has led to close and long-lasting relationships with their customers, who often write back about the enormous measure of comfort and solace they have found in their custom glass pieces. That, to both Linda & Krista is the true reward of running the business. They are amazed that people will drive three and more hours to their home studio in Whitefish to sit and discuss a proposed piece and to watch the process of creating each piece from scratch; and they are more than gratified over having found such a personal and beautiful way to help people move through the various stages of grief.

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