I believe in you, inner child 💘
Why I'm making necklaces
It all started with a box I unearthed in my parents’ basement last fall.
The Thanksgiving before last, my parents announced their move to Florida, and we’d have to work together to clear out the house. The basement, in particular, always loomed as a daunting task, with many boxes from many moves piled up in its corners.
But the time had finally come to sort through my life. I was curious to discover what was in these boxes that had moved with us many times. I wondered what I would unearth inside a caboodle case in a dusty box that hadn’t been opened in twenty-something years.
I got to work, spending two full weeks tearing open boxes and plastic bins, sitting on the cold cement of late fall, and often catching myself getting lost in daydreams, skipping down memory lane, and clutching an old item I had found. I was holding hands with little Maya as I flipped through a planner that detailed every minute of the sweet 16 party I threw for myself, and I found the long braid with my bow collection affixed to its blonde strands. I laughed when I read through the dramatic “book” I wrote (from the perspective of a mom, mind you) and held stuffed animals that once sat proudly on my bed. All these things represented this intricate world of who I was and who I’d grown to become.
In one box, I found a ziplock bag with a tangle of beaded necklaces inside. They were affixed to a long safety pin. Beneath this, were a pile of craft supplies.
Two things about little Maya that you need to know:
1.She loved arts and crafts, and
2.She never sat still.
I was always enterprising. Making businesses up in my head and presenting them to my dad. Writing intricate stories and keeping minute-by-minute journals of my life. I was the kid who organized and directed the neighborhood dances we’d put on for our parents to win the sleepover, and I was the one who set up the lemonade stand at the base of our driveway on our cul-de-sac street in South Florida to sell goodies to passing neighbors. A few years later, using the same model, I forced my friend Gabe to play his violin with an open case at the end of his driveway on a densely wooded street in Bethany, CT, where no more than three cars pass daily. We didn’t make any money. It’s about trial and error, right? In High School, I was active in several organizations. I was vice president of the National Arts Society, a passionate member of student government, and constantly coming up with new committees to join. Prom committee? YOU BET. Yearbook? I was the sports photographer and attended every football game. I even founded my own clubs. Girls’ Golf Club, The Israeli-American Club, which I co-founded with my friend Karen—we had run into each other in Israel that summer and learned that our grandmothers were great friends(!) and knew we had to have a haven for Jews to come together in our school.
And then I remembered—these finished necklaces sitting in a forgotten bag were meant to be sold during lunch period sometime in my Senior year.
As a camp counselor, I took orders for friendship bracelets a few summers in a row. My sweet group of 8-year-old girls all wanted custom bracelets and had no interest in making them themselves. I worked tirelessly each day after camp at the pool club, knotting up these custom bracelets. It was always such a joy to call them over to tie the finished piece onto their little wrists. Their smiles would widen with glee before they snapped around to cannonball back into the pool.
What I realized as I got deeper and deeper into the boxes in the basement was that my original self was always very clear. She sits, humming, in the center of my belly, radiating out gorgeous sparkly light. She is hella creative—so much so that most days it makes her restless.
As we grow up, the way we express this original self shifts. Sometimes, we are made fun of, and we decide to hide our light as a form of protection. Other times, someone we respect discourages us from shining as brightly as we can (whether they realize it or not), and we are thrown off of our true purpose. And the more we go through life in that protective holding pattern, the more we forget how to connect with our original selves. But she never goes away. In fact, this light morphs, consistently adapting to who we are becoming. She comes through in what lights us up, what brings a smile to our faces or feels good in our hearts. It’s simply our job to notice and tend to these parts of ourselves, repairing the trust.
So, when I got to the bottom of the box and found the years and years of accumulated bead supplies staring up at me, I knew I had to answer this urge to play. I had to show love to this little girl who adored making things. I put most of my basement belongings in storage, but the beads came with me. I began making, curious to see what I’d come up with.
I’ve spent the better part of 2024’s evenings with beads precariously scattered around me on my couch, making necklace after necklace. I started with words and simple, colorful pieces to layer with finer jewelry, and then I let my heart wander. What would delight this little girl? What would she want to make next? Every time I shared the necklaces on Instagram, I was met with a wave of positivity, and soon, my friends wanted to buy one for themselves. In the summer, I had an idea to add finer crystal beads, and I found a shop in NYC that would fulfill that desire. The shopkeeper asked me about my tools, and I flushed with embarrassment. This was just a silly hobby, and I didn’t have tools— I only had the supplies I’d used as an 11-year-old. Stretch cord, a pair of scissors, and good eyesight.
I felt defensive. But then, I challenged myself. What if this was more than just a silly hobby? What if this urge to create is a gift I need to share with the world? What if this was stoking that inner fire? Is this something that I could take seriously for my inner child who deeply believed in her magic and the projects she created? I took a deep breath and put my ego aside. I became curious, and I leaned in. I asked the shopkeeper for her tips. I spent a good hour learning about new techniques that would elevate my work, and I left with a bag full of crystals, silk beading cord, and finishings like lobster claws and jump rings.
And this whole time, I have continued to be true to myself. True to that younger version of me. I’m letting her take the lead and share with me her whims with no judgment. I choose beads and colors and come up with new designs through her and I truly delight in wonder each time I finish a new piece.
But I think this is the thing. By feeding my inner child and taking her seriously, abundance follows. Abundance energy likes when we honor our original selves. And the joy that emanates from this place of wholeheartedness radiates through my work. We as humans feel that. We connect with heart-centered work, period. Whether we are conscious of it or not.
While on my road trip, I collected little treasures, just like I used to when I was a kid. Picking up shells on the shore, finding little rocks and gems and figurines. But now I found these types of treasures in bead form. And boy, did they come to me. Bead shops appeared in almost every place we stayed. I found a collection of beads and charms from around the world at the United Nations gift shop in Balboa Park that left me smiling like a little kid. I met a Zuni couple making stone-carved animals at a flea market in New Mexico. I bought foraged Juniper seeds that had been turned into beads from a wonderful Diné man I met in a national forest. (By the way, the Dine people wear these seeds and gift them to their children as a protection piece, much like the evil eye in my culture). I found delicate turquoise beads in Santa Fe and chunky gemstone hearts in Moab. Since returning from my road trip, I’ve been playing with these treasures, stringing them up into new designs.
This year, I am choosing to deeply believe in and champion the abilities of my original self. By validating her, my creativity can only expand, and I hope that when you interact with my jewelry, this trust of your inner knowing and deep-rooted joy will emanate through you, too.
In this spirit, I’d like to share my newest offering: The Medicine Necklace. Together, we will craft a one-of-a-kind piece that works as your daily prayer—a talisman and guide for where you are going and where you came from. Guided by intuitive pulls we get in our one-on-one session, I will dive into the world of symbols, beads, colors, and crystals to design your piece. This will be led solely by intuition and the medicine you need.
I hope that this necklace becomes a cherished good luck charm and sacred medicine for you on your journey. We are in wild times, and I want to share joy and love and healing, and these pieces felt like the best way for me to do just that. I hope that this may resonate with you, and look forward to creating something you cherish.
All of my love,
M
See all of my necklace offerings here