Fruit of the earth: The perfect gift
by Mel Dominguez (friend@beadclubphilippines.com)

It was Christmas. I was making my shopping list and raking my brains trying to figure out what to give my core friends. You know the type, a bunch of career ladies who probably have hundreds of shoes, bags and designer’s clothes stashed in their closets. What do you give to friends – who practically have everything? Compared to them, I was the poor one. But I wanted to give them something that they will appreciate, something they will wear…..something they will remember me by.

Then one day I saw my sister Christine’s bracelet. It was a 10 string beauty made with hundreds of lovely tiny gemstones in multiple attractive colors. It was given to her as a gift by her friend Carol who has been making gemstone jewelries as a hobby business. (Their main business? they are entrepreneurs running a successful graphic design studio)

I felt an instant attraction to the crystal gemstones –tiny beads arranged in random patterns – clear quartz, peridot, garnet, citrine, rose quartz, smoky quartz, carnelian, amethyst and more – it was a loaded treasure.

It was also a great idea. I had my answers.

For friends who have everything, I will give them something meaningful and personalized. I will create gemstone jewelries made especially for them.

So off we went all over town – wherever we can find gemstones we needed to make our unique gifts. We even dragged our friend Janette Toral in one of those trips and tried to get her to “buy into the idea” of gemstones, their power and the unique way which we can create personalized gifts. She seemed totally uninterested. She complied by listening but wandered off to a computer shop to buy her printer while we were busy scrutinizing gemstones strings in a  greenhills stall. Though she didn’t seemed interested to “get into the groove” – she totally surprised me, when she showed up at my door exactly one week after the greenhills trip. She was wearing jewelries of her own creation. She showed me photos of her other “creations”. She even took it further; she enrolled in a beading course! In another two weeks, she sold me the idea of forming a website, “hobby club” for beaders who want to sell, display their creations online – or simply want to be connected with other beading enthusiasts. Thus, shortly before 2005 was over, www.beadclubphilippines.com was born. That’s just the beginning……

In those days before Christmas, while everyone else were doing their crazy last minute shopping at the malls – we were at home—discovering the “almost sinful” pleasure of creating our own gemstone jewelries. It was like an addiction. It was also “not cheap”. We thought it was going to be a more economical way of giving gifts. We were wrong. Once we got started, we just couldn’t stop. We wanted to buy the right stone, the right findings for the style we want – the right locks and the appropriate color for each person we were creating the jewelry for. We just kept coming back for more till our wallets were empty. Eventually, we were trading stones….”I will trade you 10 pieces of  my faceted rose quartz in exchange for 6 pieces of your oblong jade…etc etc…”. We imagined that’s how people “bartered” in the old days. It made sense to us now.

I was working double time trying to tick off all my tasks from my “to do” list from my ‘day’ job so I can escape into many hours of stringing gemstones crystals. We spent many late nights trying to do more. We were basking in the pleasure of having “created” something that was beautiful in our eyes. For me, the mere act of combining together crystal gemstones, making my own designs, and stringing them together, combined with soft music on the background – this activity alone had its meditative quality. There was a total zoning out of the outside world. Maybe the stones worked in relieving us of our stress, removing negative feelings and thoughts and were actually energizing us. Or perhaps the stress reliever was the act of creating something – while you are thinking of the person you are creating it for. It was almost like offering a prayer for that person.

For someone who works under high-pressure and  in a very competitive environment – such as PR, this is the perfect activity – you just simply PARK your brains and when you resume doing your real job – you suddenly have all the right solutions. Wow, isn’t that amazing? It’s like God answering your prayers.  I wish I had discovered the joys of gemstone crystal jewelry making when I was feeling depressed. I never realized how this can be such a therapeutic and fulfilling act. Oh and by the way, I clean out the stones – before I turn it over as a gift (just in case I transferred the negative and not the positive energy into the stones).

I have been collecting gemstones from my travels for almost a decade now-- ever since a friend gave me a crystal pendant. He was the new age type who felt that the crystal pendant– belonged to me. It may sound weird, but indeed I felt an instant connection to the pendant and being “semi-clairvoyant” (if there is such a thing) I felt the pendant made of clear quartz instantly connecting and vibrating to me. Since then, I have always scouted around for natural gemstones in all shapes and colors. It was almost like an adventure. In the rare times that I had to travel, it has become one of my top list agenda. Eventually, I have collected one or two gemstone rocks from places like Chicago, New Jersey, Virginia, California, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore. There was no special way I choose which ones to purchase, sometimes I choose them because I like the color, the meaning or I just randomly pick up what felt right to me. I started doing some research on their meanings and it has become a decade long fascination.

I believe in the power of crystals. I believe that God is such a genius that he created these gems to serve us, not merely to be hidden in the bowels of the earth. They say that “diamonds are a girl’s best friend”, well diamonds are just one of those crystal stones – give the other stones a break and you will be delighted.

Crystal gemstones are one of God’s best gifts to mankind – natural formations in wonderful patterns and rainbow colors created over hundreds of years inside earth’s womb. They are here to adorn us, delight us, to heal us and to empower us.

I have never thought of using it as ladies accessories –till now.  My effort to personalize my gifts definitely paid off. In all the years, I have given gifts, never have I received such a warm “thank you” – from everyone till this Christmas and New Year (I’m not done giving gifts). In the PR world, building relationships is the blood line of our business. I made necklaces, bracelets or earrings with each specific editor, journalist or client in mind – I have become friends with most of them anyway. I think of each person and I let my instincts dictate what stones to put together especially for each one.

There was one journalist I had a short falling out with last year. I tried communicating with her many times, to no avail. I recently sent her a necklace putting in some rose quartz to symbolize love and forgiveness. I am partial to necklaces even though I know that not everyone wears them. I like giving something that they can wear close to their hearts. To my surprise, she sent me an SMS message telling me how lovely the necklace was and how she appreciated the effort. I never realized that it was such a sure fire way of bringing back the warmth of an old friendship gone awry. I received the gift when I gave one.

The bonus is that, I keep getting orders from some of my friends I gave gifts to. What started out as an idea for a Christmas gift – is now a hobby business as well.

In my desire to personalize my Christmas gifts, I never realized I was going to give myself the best gift – that great feeling of joy and fulfillment.