I don't know about you but there are times in life that I encounter people and just think - Yes, they are genuinely really nice people! I always consider myself extremely fortunate that I can honestly say my customers are a pleasure to work with. And I can tell you, I have heard a few horror stories from friends working in similar industries. Stories like Barbara & John's remind me of why I love creating jewelry for my customers. Barbara initially got in touch with me as she had come across our Silver Celtic Knot Cufflinks.
She wanted to create a one-of-a-kind Irish wedding anniversary gift for her husband John that reflected his Irish heritage but was also personal to them both. Barbara and John celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary at the end of September this year. John is of Irish descent with his grandmother hailing from County Mayo and grandfather from County Cork. She mentioned quite early on that her husband's family were from Cork so the fact that they were made here would be significant to him.
As many of you will know, Cork people are notoriously proud of where they are from, at home and abroad. So, we wholeheartedly agreed it was very fitting that her gift to be designed and handcrafted in the county his family were from. Barbara and John live in Texas with their three adult children. With their son working as an artist, one daughter teaching math and the other daughter teaching art history, I feared we may have a few art critics in the house :). So the pressure was on to deliver!
Irish Wedding Anniversary Gift: Designing & Craft
Below are some images of our Irish Celtic Cufflinks in the making.
In order to add a personalized touch, Barbara worked with me to incorporate a few additional elements she wanted to include in the design. She asked if we could add a Gaelic symbol for love, the date they married 50 years ago and both of their initials. Although, we were limited in terms of surface space on the back of the cufflinks, I suggested a couple of options. In the end, she chose to go with their initials on one cufflink.
On the other, she had the option to choose a heart shaped Celtic Knot (A Love Knot) or the Irish phrase 'Anam Cara' which would be hand engraved into the silver surface. Anam Cara is a beautiful Irish term which loosely translates to Soulmate. If you are interested in reading more on the Anam Cara meaning, visit our blog post - What does Anam Cara Mean?
After looking into the meaning of Anam Cara, she decided to go with this option. As the front of the cufflinks already had the intricate Celtic Knot design and we have a special weakness for the Anam Cara term here in the workshop, we definitely think she made the right decision. Especially given the occasion they were celebrating.
With a lot of consideration from Barbara, we think she made an excellent choice in finding this very personal and fitting anniversary gift that we hope John will always cherish and someday hand down through the generations of their Irish family. Once the cufflinks were complete, I shipped them from the workshop to Barbara's home in Texas. They arrived safely 3 days later!!! While Barbara seemed confident that John would love them, I was especially delighted to hear from him directly to say they had been very well received.
Barbara obviously knows her husband quite well after 5 decades together. This is a snippet of the email I received from John. Amongst other lovely things, John said that Barbara's choice of gift had reinforced what he already knew to be his "Greatest decision more that 50 years ago to ask for Barbara’s hand in marriage"
I love to hear when my work plays even a small part in helping people to celebrate the special milestones in their lives. It is heartwarming to see such a wonderful couple clearly still very much in love after 50 years of marriage. I hope you will join me in congratulating John & Barbara and wishing them many more happy anniversaries in the future!
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