Beverly Malchow Carlson, one of our JMHS 55 classmates, is an artisan who designs and creates jewelry. Bev has been involved in this endeavor since 1999. Her website is featured on Bill Bartling’s (JMHS 53) Artisan Album Click here: Bill Bartling’s Album
Bev writes that her favorite form of jewelry making is Chain Maille jewelry, originating from the design of ancient knight’s clothing. Her Chain Maille jewelry is produced from Argentium Sterling Silver, made one ring at a time, and woven into ancient patterns. Argentium Sterling Silver has the property of tarnishing very, very slowly. Other materials are often incorporated into the designs such as Swarovski Crystals, Fresh Water Pearls, and Lampwork Beads plus other special “finds". See http://www.bevsjewelry.com .
GIVING BACK TO OTHERS: Lexie’s cause...
Recently, Bev’s jewelry design business has added a worthy philanthropic cause to help another in need. Read Bev’s inspirational story below:
Melanie Horris, a friend of mine, asked me to make a bracelet we could sell to raise money for the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge. Melanie is a two time breast cancer survivor and runs in the Boston Marathon each year, raising money for the Dana Farber Cancer Research Center in Boston. This year Melanie is running for Lexie Williams, a nine year old student at the school where Melanie teaches physical education classes. Lexie has had brain cancer since she was 3 1/2 months old.
I agreed to help Lexie’s cause. Melanie took part in helping me choose the beads
and design for the bracelet. We decided to use Swarovski pearls which are well known
beads, are easy to find, are pretty, and consist of lovely colors. Once I had purchased
some bead samples, we “designed” the bracelet in about 30 minutes. The next part
of the design process was to get Lexie’s approval. She liked the bracelet and made
some suggestions to have each color be significant to the design. The Mauve (purple)
color is her favorite so Mauve represents Lexie. Rosaline (pink) represents Love,
Light Blue represents Cure, Light Gray represents Courage, and White represents Hope.
Lexie came up with this on her own.
Miraculously, the whole designing process was
completed and the jewelry was ready to sell in about three weeks time. Up until now,
most of my designs have been one or two of a kind. This time, making a production
run was different for me, but very rewarding. I strung, strung, bent, crimped, added
findings, etc., etc., etc. I watched a lot of TV while stringing, trying to keep
up with the holiday demand.
At the same time, I had a smaller fundraiser running for Science with a Mission which is an organization that uses a technology called immunoassays to test for diseases in people in underdeveloped countries. The bracelet for that group was made from Millefiori oval beads. I learned a great deal making those bracelets, mainly to choose more readily available materials and to avoid some design flaws that caused some of the first bracelets to pull apart. These learning experiences helped me to produce a better product when crafting Lexie’s bracelets. We sold over 100 bracelets for the “Science with a Mission” cause. See http://www.sciencewithamission.org/ for more information on SMI. Also read an article about the founder of SMI, Alynne MacLean at Be A Pencil , as it helps to explain my willingness to help her.
Sales have been heartwarming. Before Christmas, we had sold 118 of Lexie’s bracelets for a donation to the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge of $1180. In January, the donation to the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge was almost $400. We’d hit almost $600. in mid February of this year. We have recently added earrings and a necklace on a silver 18" chain to Lexie’s line. SMI sales were over 100 bracelets too. Amazing stuff happens when your goal is to help others!
Lexie’s website Link: http://www.teamlexie.org/
Melanie’s website Link: Melanie
Recently, Bev purchased a book on jewelry making that spends a great deal of time on the thought process and what can “inspire” one to make particular designs. Being a lifelong learner, Bev says that “the book will be good for me to think about what I do.” Bev lives south of Boston, Massachusetts in North Easton with her husband Bill. They have three grown children and seven grandchildren. Bev’s business address is below:
Bev's Jewelry
www.bevsjewelry.com
North Easton, MA
508-
Below: Bev’s Grandson, Brady, helps her make Lexie’s earrings
Bev displays her jewelry at the Hollyberry Craft Fair in Kingston, MA
Keeping in Touch
A FASCINATING, ARTISTIC HOBBY: Bev creates...
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