I had posted some pictures of hair vines on social media and was contacted by a lady who wanted to know if it was possible to make a necklace in the same style.

Having undergone a heart transplant Katie wanted something that would disguise, not hide, the scars on her decolletage. She and I exchanged a number of messages so that I could clarify measurements, agree budget and get a feel for Katies likes and dislikes.

Next step, draw the designs that were buzzing in my head, choose the one that I thought would be the closest match to the brief, and send this electronically to Katie for her approval/ comment. At the same time I had made a prototype of part of the design, took pictures and sent those along with the drawings.

I was very pleased that Katie loved the design and the gemstones I had proposed. I wanted to add a few surprises to the final piece, not least because I wanted the necklace to be as versatile as possible. Versatility is something I like to all my commission pieces where I can.

I used Garnet (Katies birthstone), rose quartz, and 3 different size of freshwater cultured pearls, with Sterling silver wire. I also included a necklace where I wired a pair of tiny sapphires to the clasp, these being the birthstone for the month in which Katie received her new heart.

The additional surprises for Katie are that I happened to have some garnet gems that are heart shaped and I included these in the vine. The vine is removable, allowing her to wear just the choker, the vine can be attached to any chain Katie may have in her stash and of course the one included, and the sapphire clasp can be worn to the front of the neckline. In effect 5 necklaces for the price of one.