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About c’est la vie, etc.

 

The passage of time can be our best asset. Since the successful launch of my jewelry line, I continue to feel humbly blessed having had the opportunity to say, “this is not how my story will end”. I continue to think of new chapters to add with a passion for photography, writing and interior design.

The summer of 2010, at the happiest time of my mid-life, the unthinkable happened. It came without warning or preparation. I remember it to be a welcomed rainy day, after a summer drought. I was working in a floral shop, in a quintessential New England town, doing a job that I excelled at and loved. Within seconds, my life came to a screeching halt as I slipped on a wet, improperly painted cement floor. The next several hours and days are still a blur. An ER visit with a diagnosis of a concussion was followed by doctor appointments, 8 months as an out-patient in a rehabilitation hospital for physical and speech therapy to include a failed driving evaluation and a true loss of independence. Initially and to this day I continue to struggle with long lasting effects of life with a traumatic brain injury.

A counselor I was seeing suggested to me that I “get to find my new norm”. I think I was supposed to say hooray, lucky me! But, I was confused since I was hoping to continue living in the norm I knew and loved. But, this new norm slowly learns to bid farewell to the old life I had and finds a foothold in this new place. Always being a creative person by nature I knew that I had to find a new medium to work with. It also had to be within the house because I am unable to work outside my familiar surroundings. Whether I arranged antiques and giftware in my shop, or florals and merchandise in my next career; I have always been a visual person. I have found a new, self-taught passion. Jewelry. I created a studio within our home where I am able to use my love of words to inspire, my desire to repurpose the old with the new, a mix of metals which reminds me that life is a combination of the past, present and future. I create in a wabi sabi kind of way. Seeking the beauty of things imperfect and inspired to find a balance between expressing something meaningful, while creating a sense of joy that might quietly touch the lives of others.

My mom was my best friend and she quietly passed away in 2007. One of her favorite sayings was, “c’est la vie”, a French phrase which translates to “such is life”. What happened to me is just that…life. While moving forward on this journey, I am finding my place and my footing, one deliberate step at a time. This venture of self expression is my healing attempt to find a place within my being to seek out solid ground and to quietly say where there is hope, there is life.

C’est la vie. Elise