A few years ago a dear friend of mine was moving from BC back to Ontario. I was so excited about her coming back home, I decided to fly out and drive all the way back with her. Having never driven across Canada before, it was quite an adventure. The landscape was beautiful and each province was picturesque in it’s own unique way.
The moment that took my breath away was when we crossed the border from Manitoba to Ontario. The “Welcome to Ontario” sign greeted us at the side of the road. We cheered as we passed it, but here’s what really got us both. The next thing we saw was the Canadian Shield. Majestic and glowing in the beautiful mid-day sunlight, its colourful range of granite and quartz made us pull over to admire its magnificence. We felt so proud to be Canadians . . . and Ontarians.
I’m one of those lucky kids who has spent most of my summers up north in Muskoka. I remember collecting beautiful rocks and pretending they were the finest diamonds and that some were even laced with gold. I could play this game of discovery for hours.
Once I started glamjulz I always thought how great it would be, if some of these beautiful rocks could actually become julz.
Last year I reunited with Jim and Gail Hannigan-Daley. Wonderful people for whom I used to babysit for. HERE is that story.
Little did I know that Jim had history in Parry Sound. One day we had a conversation about our love for the north and I told him all about my desire to make rocks into julz. That’s when a wonderful collaboration began. Jim collected the most perfect rocks for me. He had all of the equipment, the rock tumbler being the most important to get those rocks all shined up and looking their most spectacular.
Jim made 25 pendants. I added a shimmery long chain and accented them with a Maple Leaf and a Swarovski Crystal. These were our 2019 Canada Day julz. They sold out over a couple of days and we were thrilled!
The rocks carry so much of our history and just holding one in your hand makes you feel powerful in itself. Just imagine, these are all ancient stones, found in our iconic Canadian Shield. The rocks are actually some of the oldest in the world. Most are over one billion years old and some are over four billion.
They’ve been eroded, worn over by the ages and worn down by multiple ice ages. It was part of the stone deposits that once made up a mountain range across much of the eastern edge of North America. They were known as the Grenville Mountains, which were at one time the height of the modern day Himalayas.. Possibly were the largest mountain ranges ever on earth.
If you were lucky enough to purchase one of these limited edition rocks you now know a little more about what you are wearing.
If you didn’t get in on the Canada Day julz, do not fret! Jim and I are getting together to celebrate our success and to talk about our next collaboration. More pendants are pending 😉 . Make sure you are on our email list so that you are among the first to know!
Monica XO
Jim is a very talented artist. Fashioning these pendants is one of many things that he creates. Wooden trays from oak and sand candles are also in his repertoire. If you would like to contact Jim directly you can do so at jdaleyhd@gmail.com
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