I love the idea of creating a necklace that tells a story...

And for me, this charm dangle necklace tells the story of the plight of the racing Greyhound and efforts to get these dogs into adoptive home..It also represents those hounds that don’t make it to adoption and/or our own hounds that have passed and are waiting for us at the bridge. I adore the way this necklace turned out and I hope it will be as meaningful for you to wear as it was for me to design it.

Description:

 I oxidized all the silver to give the necklace a vintage, aged metal look almost as if all the charms have been carefully chosen and added over time...I love the way it turned out and my hope is that the necklace will serve as a conversation piece that gives you even more opportunities to talk about our beloved hounds.

 The Pendants:  Two fairly substantial hand carved and finished pure silver pendants hang from the chain. The first being the beautiful heart wings which measure 1.5” from wing tip to wing tip and is .5“ long, below that and connecting the two pendants is a fabulous hand carved bali bead below that hangs the  the Stargrey pendant which measures 1.25” long and is .75” wide.

The Chain: I used one of my favourite chains, a sturdy but elegant solid sterling 18" 5mm Rollo chain

 Charms: The charm dangle measures 3.25” from the bottom of Stargrey and is comprised of 3 sterling hammered disks, two Karen Hill tribe handmade sterling starfish charms, a little sterling silver filigree cross and a couple of AB Swarovski crystal charms

ABOUT THE PENDANT:
I have long admired the work of Artist Cathy Hoynes of www.greyhoundstudies.com and I absolutely loved working with her on this project. Kathy seemed to 'get it' immediately when I asked her to come up with a greyhound drawing that incorporated a starfish somewhere in the image.

Kathy really outdid herself with the breathtaking image she presented to me, which we have now dubbed 'STARGREY'.
With no revisions necessary, I immediately had the image cast in sterling silver and suspended in a slightly twisted sterling oval and topped with a substantial curlicue bail.

I am thrilled to introduce this original artwork keepsake Greyhound pendant with it's elegant swirling S shape head and neck and curly starfish anchoring the base.

WHAT IS THE GREYHOUND STARFISH CONNECTION?

Those familiar with greyhound adoption may also be aware of the starfish poem and how it relates to the mindset of those who adopt these elegant, gorgeous, deserving, hounds.
My inspiration for these jewellery pieces stems from my personal identification with the poem.

The Starfish Poem

As I walked along the seashore
This young boy greeted me.
He was tossing stranded starfish
Back to the deep blue sea.
I said, "Tell me why you bother,
Why you waste your time this way.
There's a million stranded starfish
Does it matter, anyway?"

And he said, "It matters to this one.
It deserves a chance to grow.
It matters to this one.
I can't save them all I know.
But it matters to this one,
I'll return it to the sea.
It matters to this one,
And it matters to me."

-- Anonymous