Kidney Transplant Gratitude Gift
Inspiration, Created from Need
November 17, 2017
Have you noticed how the best ideas often begin with need? When a creative solution to a particular need doesn’t yet exist in the world, that’s when ideas become exciting. I love when that “creativity light” wakes my brain. That’s when I know it’s time to mine for workable ideas and solutions.
My Donor/Recipient “Butterfly” Pendant Set, pictured, began with multiple requests for a kidney shaped pendant that separates into two sections, one for a living donor and the other for the recipient. I tried that concept, drew scores of sketches, cut out various configurations in paper, taped them around a chain and took photos to see what they would look like when worn, but they did not have a sense of importance. I wanted the two halves to each convey a deeper, more meaningful message about the life altering transplant experience. Sharing a kidney in life deserved a special Gift of Gratitude for a real Hero.
In October 2017, I noticed rare Monarch butterflies had come to my yard to feast on the wild Asters. I went out to photograph them, and all the while thought about these delicate creatures and the transformation they went through to get to my yard on their way south to winter in Mexico. They were all survivors, just like kidney patients about to go through the transformation that comes with a transplant. When I saw the photos enlarged on my computer, I noticed that butterfly wings look similar to kidneys…with a little artistic license! The concept wasn’t to be one part turned into two, but two parts becoming one. I would create two pendants, one with a kidney “removed” for the donor and the other with a kidney “added on,” for the recipient. The idea was simple and perfect for what I wanted to express. 
I excitedly began a series of sketches and measurements to hand over to the metals studio that produces my sterling jewelry designs. Their workmanship is beautiful and the studio owner understands my mission and its needs, enabling me to create pieces that I could not otherwise produce in my own jewelry studio. I used to love working with metals, but there are too many chemical hazards for my own transplanted kidney. Creating this pendant set was a 5 month project with dozens of emails and phone calls, but the end result was exactly what I envisioned and I was thrilled with the pendants and what they symbolized for kidney recipients and living donors.
From the first week the set was available, it resonated with buyers and I knew I had a winning design that brought meaning and gratitude to the transplant experience. I added the Golden Kidney set in 2018, with a small gold plated kidney within the larger “wing” body. See them both close up on the Special Gifts page at Transplantgifts.com or Kidneyjewelry.com. They are also for sale at Etsy.com/shop/kidneyjewelry.
I‘ll be back soon with more ideas to help express gratitude for the Gift of Life. Hopefully, with any luck, the Monarchs will be back to feast in my tasty yard next October, bringing beauty into the world around us and perhaps, a dose of creative inspiration.
Here are a few of my beautiful Monarchs from October, 2017.
They come each year to drink flower nectar for energy before their long flight ahead to Mexico.
You can help save Monarchs, whose numbers have dramatically dwindled over the last decades due to loss of their prime source of food, Milkweed. Plant Milkweed or wild Asters in your yard and you will be rewarded with the thrill of watching them feed and play. Milkweed is their most important food source plus the plants are pretty. If you’re interested in knowing more about their Migration, there are many watch groups online. Some have interactive newsletters that ask for your assistance in spotting Monarch whereabouts during the summer/autumn seasons.
This is the latest gift I’ve given my paired donor and one of the most special! It’s a gorgeous design and the butterfly imagery is so neat!!