am so proud of the new line of cancer comfort jewelry that I just designed for my dear friend, Barb Gabriel's jewelry party.  I have some new Czech breast cancer beads that I purchased at the Milwaukee Bead and Button show. I was fortunate enough to purchase a quantity of the beads so I will have plenty for quite some time since there are no more out there.  The show was a huge success because many of Barb's fellow breast cancer survivors attended and loved the jewelry.  As usual, cashier for the show was my uber-pal Sally.  She is a breast cancer warrior and survivor.  We worked at Wahlert high school, and Sally and I have walked the cancer journey together as I have been her chemo coach.  Click here to see the collection.

One of the ladies was the wife of a soldier from the 133rd who had been deployed to Kosivo.  It turns out that they were returning the next day, so we helped her pick out jewelry to match her welcome home outfit.  It was a special part of the sale.  Other ladies shared their joy and struggles with breast cancer.  I was totally charmed and so impressed with all of them.  I am going to sponsor a golf hole at the Breast Cancer golf tournament in September, and I plan to donate some of my cancer jewelry to the event.

I will also be designing a line of children's cancer jewelry for an August sale in Iowa City.  That sale is to help raise funds for childhood cancer.  I can't wait for that.  It is a cause so close to my heart since we lost our beloved nephew, Georgie, to leukemia at the age of 13.  I am thrilled to be able to honor him and my dear friend Sally with the purchase of a hole.

I have also been shopping for more druzies—those lovely sparkly quartz pendants.  You know, druzy is also called merlinite.  It is the stone of magic and transformation.  I personally wear one every day. 

I am booking in-home shows for the Fall.  I give the hostess 20 percent of my gross sales in free jewelry.  It has worked out very well so far.  Usually, my hostesses end up with some great jewelry and have been very happy with the arrangement.  If you live in or near Dubuque, please contact me.  --Linda

I recently renamed my bracelets from therapy bracelets to comfort bracelets.  I am so pleased with the change.  It may just seem like semantics, but the difference is so meaningful to me.  I have received notes and emails from many of my customers who tell me how much it meant to them to have something special to give to a friend or family member at a time of crisis.  So the bracelets seem to help not only the recipient, but also the gifter.  It serves as a constant reminder that they are not alone.

I remember when my beloved nephew died of leukemia.  My best friends cried with me, and I will never forget that.  I had a secretary at the time, and she was hearing impaired.  I got her because it was too inconvenient for the administrators to deal with her disabilities.  I came to love her because of her common sense and innocent wisdom she shared.  After we buried Georgie, she sat and simply cried with me.  I will never forget her words:  “Linda, joy shared is doubled, and pain shared is halved.”  What simple, honest and true words. 

When a friend is in crisis, there are lots of nice things we can do to help, and the comfort bracelets are a nice way to have that constant reminder of your love and support.  Perhaps the nicest compliment I received was from a friend with cancer who I gave a cancer bracelet.  When her sister's son died very unexpectedly, she gave her sister the precious bracelet that she had worn for over a year as a gesture of support.  Her sister continues to wear the bracelet. 

Another thought occurred to me about my jewelry.  Oftentimes, jewelry is a great ice breaker.  People come up to me and ask my about a stone or a piece I am wearing.  That usually leads to a lovely conversation.  A person wearing a comfort bracelet may be asked about it, and it inevitably leads to a conversation where they share stories with  someone in similar circumstances.  This talking about themselves is very cathartic which is very therapeutic.  It goes back to my secretary's words of wisdom.  You learn that you are not the only person going through this traumatic situation.  It is great to share information and even helpful advice.

I have a stone called hypersthene which is a great metaphysical support for social unease.  Many of us dread the superficial cocktail chatter as we are juggling a napkin, beverage and a carrot stick.  What a lovely ice breaker to have a stone that is unusual and prompts questions.  You'd be surprised what you learn when you admit that you're not really good at cocktail chatter.  Finding a kindred spirit is really a great support, and can lead to a meaningful conversation and even a good friendship.

I must say that I have noticed something very interesting about my customers.  Many of the emails come in late at night.  This tells me that people are on the internet searching for answers in the middle of the night (been there done that).  I am so gratified that my web site gives them some modicum of comfort and support.  One of the most difficult parts of a crisis is the lack of options and feeling of being helpless.  In order to be psychologically healthy, you have to feel like you have a variety of different  choices to get back to a place of control.  I am not suggesting that a bracelet is going to avert a crisis.  However, It can be a part of your arsenal as you fight to get back your control and take on this crisis.

In closing, I want to quote a customer who wrote this note:  “The bracelet arrived today and it is wonderful.  Thank you with all my heart for creating such wonderful and inspirational jewelry which has come to us at the perfect time.”  I guess this says it all.  --Linda

Please e-mail me Yes, I know... this is not some big time jewelry web site. I endeavor to make my web site more intimate, friendly, and the e-mail you will send me will start the process of my getting to know you. This is critical to our success. Call it personal selling, relationship selling... whatever. If we do some business, great. If we become friends... that's even better.

Thanks for visiting my site. Linda Olsen

am so excited about the addition of a new bracelet to my collection.  I now call my bracelets “Comfort Bracelets.” I like to think that they represent the support and encouragement that we want to give each other when someone is going through trying times or some new phase of life.  They have the added benefit that they serve as a constant reminder of your support and message to the recipient. 

I have had my web site for a year, but it has taken about that long for it to catch on.  Now, I get communication almost every day regarding the stones, bracelets.  Sometimes it's orders, but many times it's just  a lovely note to say that they like my work. 

What I enjoy the most is all of the lovely people that I meet because of the site.  In a way I become a part of their family as we talk about the challenges that we all face in our lives.  I find myself once again falling into my professional role of a therapist as they share their stories of loss, illness, and other of life's seemingly unfair happenings. 

I have sent bracelets to grieving families who lost everything in Katrina and then lost a child in a violent way.  Another went to a mother who lost two children in two months.  Let's face it, when we see someone face what appears insurmountable loss, we are almost overwhelmed in our effort to be supportive in some way.  My customers are just so happy to have found something that will comfort the person who they are giving the bracelet.

The new Thank You Bracelet came as a brain storm after a customer called and wanted something for a retiring beloved teacher.  I had just been noodling the idea of a Thank You Bracelet, and it was the perfect thing for her and also a welcome addition to my line.

Sometimes, customers want to customize their bracelets with birthstone crystals and special words or symbols.  I am very happy to try to accommodate that if I am able to find what they want.  I am always more than happy to hear new ideas.

I look at my bracelets as almost a mission in life.  I feel privileged to hear people's stories and to sometimes add my bit of counseling to our discussions.  After I send off a bracelet, I love to hear back from my customers as they tell me about how pleased the recipient is.  I end up making friends and have had many repeat customers. 

When I was a therapist, I used to say that the bravest people walked through my doors to tell their stories.  I feel that in the case of my bracelets, the kindest people walk into my life for a little while and I help them give a little piece of their heart to someone who needs it. 

Well, I am off to do some beading.  Talk to you again.  I'm preparing for the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee in June. It's such fun. Linda

am thrilled about my wonderful finds from Tucson. We hit almost all of the shows and came back with some awesome stones, beads and ideas. I went to the venues that were favorites and also found some wonderful new ones. I also had the time to take a class which was from Swarovski. It was on using adhesives to embellish different surfaces. I am not exactly sure how I will use this, but I learned a lot and got to know some great people from Swarovski.

Since this is our second year in Tucson, I feel like we really knew more about where to go for the things we were interested in. I also was able to focus on the stones that my customers are interested in. For example, I purchased a bunch of druzies. I can now say that I have a full line. Another area I concentrated on was watermelon tourmaline. This is a lovely stone that is becoming scarcer, and it is so versatile and popular. I bought beads and also larger crystals and pieces to wire wrap. I can foresee lovely pieces that combine beaded necklaces with a wire wrapped focus.

I found a new stone—actually my husband Gary discovered it at a display belonging to a source from Poland. It is striped flint which is apparently found in Poland. It is graphic, gorgeous, and also very organic since they are in the color palette of creams and browns.

Another wonderful find was the mystic topaz focus beads and the tiny mystic topaz beads. They are so sparkly, and everyone I showed them to, loved them. I can't wait to make a piece from them.

Probably the best metaphysical find is all of the rutilated quartz that has just become popular. It is not only gorgeous, but it is also a very motivational stone. These are very hot right now. Anyone wearing one is sure to get a lot of attention and have people ask, “where did you get that, and what is it? “ Metaphysically, it is a very strong stone because the quartz has a hardness of 8 or 8.5, but the crystals in it are much softer. They are a 4.5 or 5. So, in metaphysical terms, they conjure up inspirations to achieve, be attuned and aware. I will do them in wire wrapped pendants, beaded strands, and bracelets.

One thing I noticed is the scarcity of good Ocean Jasper. I am so glad that I really stocked up on it last year when it was plentiful. The government of Madagascar has nationalized the site of the find, and we all know what that means. Luckily, I did find some more, and then I had a bunch from last year.

I also got a bunch of amethyst since I do a good business with that. I find that people really like to have the earrings, pendants and a matching bracelet. It is especially nice if it is their birthstone.

I wore my own wire wrapped designs and was amazed at the number of people who asked about my work and admired it. In particular, I made a turquoise wire wrapped bangle that garnered a lot of comments. It is made of primo turquoise that comes from the mines in Nevada featured in last year's Tucson video. I will have a pix of it on the site. Likewise, another bracelet that brought raves is the dogbone bead Ocean Jasper that is an original design. I will have a picture of it also on the web site.

We are seeing more unique mineral specimens from Eastern Europe, and the most intriguing was a quartz formation called "Zincite." It apparently forms on the insides of smokestacks of old manufacturing companies that smelted zinc, lead, and other heavy metals. Apparently the only way to harvest the crystals is to demolish the smokestacks, or so we were told. The crystals are incredible. A photo is at right. If you click on it you can examine the enlargement. Apparently this crystal is so rare, there is no known supplies available beyond what is in private hands at the moment. The piece you see here measured about 18 inches by 12 inches approximately and was valued at more than $5,000.

In conclusion, Tucson was a real hoot, and we loved every minute. Our favorite venues were really the smaller ones like the Day's Inn , the La Quinta and that sort. We went to the Tucson Electric Park for the first time and really enjoyed that outdoor venue. It is really the experience of a lifetime, and I feel so grateful every time I am able to go. Here's to next year.

Linda Olsen