The "Wear Your Dream Around Your Neck" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Watching TV with my wife when she says, "Here's what I want for Christmas this year."  Hopped out of my chair and looked at the screen on her iPad.  Staring at me was a beautiful piece of jewelry that looked like a wave inside a circle.  Not a large piece of jewelry, but not real small either.  

And, inside the wave was sand.  "This is exactly what I've wanted for quite some time," she said.  I do remember walking in every jewelry store on the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey as well as every jewelry store in Stone Harbor, NJ and every jewelry store in Cape May, NJ, and every jewelry store in every island we have visited for the past decade or so.  And, here on her iPad screen is just what she wants.  

Information just in case .....

Comes from a place called Dune Jewelry which is located at 1 Westing- house plaza, Building D, Suite 7 in Boston, Maine.  The silver pendant has an empty space within the wave that you can place sand.  Sand from just about anyplace in the world.  The company posts the locations from which they have obtained sand and if you care for a different location, you must send them the sand.   Well, none of the species of sand from locations all over the world was what Carol wanted in her Christmas present, so I searched through all the bottles of sand I have in my den.  Sand from every location that we have ever been that had sand on a beach.  Only trouble that would have been created was that I put a small amount of sand in a bottle and add another layer over top of it and more sand on top of that, etc.  If she had wanted sand from a beach that had sand in the middle of the small bottle, she would have been out of luck.  Then when every bottle had been checked, I found one more hiding behind a photo on my shelf.  

St. Martin sand.

There was an entire bottle of sand from the south end of Orient Beach on the French side of St. Martin/Sint Maarten.  The exact beach she wanted.  The beach with the yellow umbrellas and orange chairs.  The beach with very few waves.  The beach with the pure, fine white sand.  The beach that we enjoy every time we head to St. Martin.  We emptied a small quantity into a baggie, sealed the top, and placed it in an envelope addressed to Dune Jewelry in Maine.  It was lucky she found the site online during November, since they require a few weeks for turn-around time, unless you choose the sand they have in stock.  Carol placed the call and told them she was mailing the sand immediately.  Her gift would be in the mail in time for Christmas.  Then one day we received a package in the mail from Maine.  She told me she didn't want to see it until Christmas morning.  I opened it in order to wrap it and sure enough, I knew she would love it.  There was this stunning, one-of-a-kind pendant in .925 Sterling Silver that she will wear forever.  

Another view of Carol's Christmas gift.

A small card came with the pendant that tells the story of the people who make them.  The founder's name is Holly Daniels Christensen and she is much like us in that she loves to travel and has special memories she wishes to preserve forever.  She began making sand jewelry at her kitchen table in 2007 and over time realized that everyone had a special memory, exciting adventure or travel dream destination that could be captured by her.  So she stared Dune Jewelry.  She signs her little note ... With love & Sandy hands, Holly Daniels Christensen - Founder, Travel Lover, Sand Connoisseur.  Gave it to Carol on Christmas morning and I believe she has worn it every day since.  She does take it off at night so she doesn't wear it in the shower, since a small note suggested that she not subject it to moisture.  

And yet, another view.

It sparkles, as you can see from the photos.  She couldn't decide which of the dozen or so photos I took to show you the pendant, so I used a few of them.  If you too have a special beach location with special memories you want to capture for eternity, use the address in my story or phone number and email address shown in the business card. And, if you decide to order a piece of jewelry, mention you saw her story on my blog.  I would love to get a pendant for my daughter and daughter-in-law, and you can help!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.