The Story Behind the Deep Knowing Necklace
My Deep Knowing Necklace is one of my favorite necklaces and the story behind it involves self-worth, money, and courage. It came about a few years after I started making jewelry, at a time when I was really taking a good hard look at my jewelry business and wondering if it was actually going to work. I had been making and selling jewelry for about 3 years and that year I felt like I had done so well! I was selling so much, but I was also so worn out. For 5 weeks straight I worked 7 days a week, with shows on each weekend. By the holidays I was burnt out.
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The new year came and I sat down to do my taxes. I was sure I had made more money than I had in the previous years- after all, I had been selling so much! Well, after a long day of numbers, my least favorite thing, I sat in dismay. After working my ass off making and selling jewelry, I had barely made enough money to cover my expenses that year. My prices had been too low and they didn't reflect that time and materials that went into each piece. I was barely making a living. And I was heartbroken. (Rest assured, my accounting skills have improved a ton since then, though it's still my least favorite thing to do!).
 I spent a few months thinking hard about what to do. In the end, I decided that I needed to raise my prices. It was simply the only way for me to continue making jewelry and doing what I loved and to have a chance at making an actual living at it.
While raising prices might seem like a simple thing to do for a business, it took a lot of soul searching for me. I wanted my pieces to be affordable, but I realized that I simply couldn't compete with machine-made mass-produced jewelry prices. But would anyone buy my work if I raised my prices? Was my work good enough for these new prices? What would people think?
 The opening day of the Brattleboro Farmers Market I set up all my work with my new prices. I was literally shaking. Who was I to try to sell my work for these prices? What was I thinking? I had just made a new piece that I loved, the largest piece I had ever made up until that point, but it didn't have a name yet. I placed it on my display that day. I had designed and made it during my inner turmoil of deciding to raise my prices so that I could continue to make jewelry.
I took a deep breath and decided to stand strong and be proud of the work I was bringing into the world. I looked down and decided that this necklace, which meant so much to me, would be called my Deep Knowing Necklace. The necklace came to represent everything I was most proud of in my work: courage, vulnerability, strength, and trusting of instinct.
To make a long story short, while there was a transition phase, you and so many people showed me how deeply you support local artists and handcrafted jewelry. I felt uplifted and encouraged, and because of this, I have been able to continue making and selling my jewelry, while supporting my family. My Deep Knowing Necklace is still one of my favorite necklaces. I think it also means a lot to the people who wear it. Here's what Julie has to say about it:
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