Gem Weekly 5

Infiltrating the gloom to add a bit of sparkle to your day! Providing a little distraction from loo roll hunting, endless queues and, let's be honest, the anxiety of our situation.

Creativity = Wellbeing

"You absolutely have to have dark in order to have light." 

This sentiment by television art instructor Bob Ross,  may resonate more than ever at this time.  Anyone who is aware of the popular re-emergence of his 1980's and 90's painting program, The Joy of Painting on YouTube and now BBC 4 will be all too familiar with his soothing voice and  "happy little trees" and "happy little clouds." 

It’s been widely understood that creativity has a positive impact on wellbeing,  so maybe it's no surprise that Bob Ross is proving so popular during Lockdown Life, alongside The Great British Sewing Bee, The Repair Shop and most recently Grayson's Art Club.

It is Mental Health Awareness Week this week and the focus is kindness.  We’ve seen many acts of kindness in recent months; care workers lending patients their phones to speak to loved ones;  people buying elderly neighbours shopping; friends checking in on friends living alone; my neighbour leaving a bottle of prosecco on my doorstep… Best neighbour EVER!

Will such levels of kindness continue after Covid-19? The government is working towards rebooting the economy, but what about considering the values we are working towards as a society, what kind of society do we want coming out of this?  As well as economic measures, New Zealand is introducing a new wellbeing economy, measuring social connectiveness and what matters to people in their lives. As Robert Kennedy referred to in his speech in 1968, gross domestic product measures everything except what matters to people:

“The gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.”

I had a little wobble at the beginning of this week. I think it's the first one during Lockdown Life, so it was bound to happen at some point, I am after all a human and not an AI generated email landing in your inboxes each week. 
My hairs getting too long, my roots need doing, I've over indulged on 35 x 100gm bars of chocolate, I've lost count of the bottles of Prosecco consumed, my jeans are now snug and the four walls are boring the hell out of me! 

Only joking.

Like everyone, I’ve had lots of time to think and re-evaluate; questioning my failures and achievements - have I met my full potential? Is my businesses where I wanted it to be by now? Where am I taking it? What am I doing?  Where on earth will I be in 6 months!? Agh!  Pretty much what every other business owner has felt, and is feeling I should imagine. So, when I was forced to look back over my... erm, 20 year career to answer a Q&A for a feature in the National Association of Jewellers magazine I actually found it quite cathartic and reassuring.  Almost therapeutic.

Yes it probably didn’t quite go as I’d planned at the age of 16 (then I was going to be a fashion designer), but as we know life is a journey, not a destination, but I think I’ve done pretty well all-in-all. One achievement was a retail shop called DualPod from 2005 - 2008. I remembered an invitation I designed for one of the Private Views we held which folded into a bracelet and guests were asked to bring their creations with them. It was a little bit of fun, but it worked! So I’ve made a few tweaks and thought I’d share it with you so you can make it to!
 

Above is the original Dualpod flyer invitation, and below it is made into a bracelet.

Take some time out to relax over the bank holiday weekend and give this little creative project a go. And maybe instead of happy little trees you can draw happy little gems!  ;) Look forward to seeing your creations! x  

Applauding our NHS and key workers

 

There has been some slow but excellent progress made on Rosie's remodelled ring since I featured it at the end of April. I'm currently only in work on Sunday morning's, but little by little we are getting there! You can see the updated photo journey and story so far on my blog  READ MORE

 

 
 

Nominated Little Gem: Dr Amy Wheelwright

 
To mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day I asked you to nominate someone special who had gone over and above the call of duty during this time to receive an 18ct gold and rose cut diamond ring from the Blemished Beauty collection.  
Ghazala nominated Dr Amy Wheelwright, and this is why: 

"Amy has been a star in the Covid crisis and gone above and beyond the call of duty. As well as working at the surgery, she has been working at the hot hub seeing Covid patients and also volunteered to work in the community hospital where Covid patients were sent to recover.  Amy herself was seriously ill last year, resulting in excessive weight loss and being hospitalised.  She has 3 young children under 5, her husband has been furloughed and they live in a small flat with no garden.  Amy is always smiling, takes everything in her stride and is extremely caring about patients and colleagues and has genuinely been working on the front line in General Practice putting herself at risk because she wanted to make a difference. A truly dedicated doctor!"
 
Amy is clearly a genuine caring person, showing kindness beyond her professional commitment as a GP, and I feel she is a very worthy receiver of one of my rings which will hopefully bring a little bit of joy and light into her life right now. 
 

A little gift from me to you