It’s Chaucer’s fault. Or maybe the ancient Greeks who celebrated Gamelion, a season dedicated to the marriage of Hera and Zeus; or the ancient Romans who observed a complex rite of fertility between the 13th and 15th of February. Or it could be an evolution from Lupercalia, another fertility rite specific to Rome.

In any case the Greco-Roman fertility festival was initially replaced by a Catholic holiday which has since become a mostly secular holiday celebrating more than just romantic love. Indeed it has become the habit that children exchange tiny cards exhorting the recipient to “be my friend.” Gifts get passed back and forth between people who share strong emotional attachments of all kinds. It is a holiday for lovers but also a holiday to celebrate friendship.

You can make this year’s Valentine’s Day especially memorable with an especially memorable gift; something that is unique in the world or in some way shows just how special the recipient is to you. Since jewelry is the one most traditional of gifts I am going to begin by introducing you to jewelry that is far from common or ordinary, created by artists whose work is exemplary and extraordinary.

Bracelet: Something pink and red and wonderfully frilly:

This lovely work of art was created by MaryLou using the Oglala bead weaving stitch. You can find this bracelt in her Etsy shop, Time2cre8.

Necklace and Earring set: This set features a Cherry quartz faceted pendant and sparkling crystal bicones. I used a very lacy variation of the Ruth’s Twist spiral bead weaving technique.

This set is available from my Etsy shop, Silver Dragon Creations by Patricia C Vener on Etsy.

Brooch: Silver is one of the most dramatic jewelry elements and this brooch by Wired Elements demonstrates this beautifully.

Visit the shop, Wired Elements on Etsy to purchase this and see more of this artist’s work.

One good way to shop is to look for local artists and artisans. Spread the love at home and buy from the talented people in your area. You will likely find everything from jewelry to pottery, furniture, toys, chocolates and maybe even locally roasted coffees. Etsy offers a search by location option and if you don’t see what you want, you can quickly expand your search parameters.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 at 6:03 PM and is filed under Good to Know. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.