By Marian Pontz
I had been interviewing teachers for a week. While that was not my original assignment, that is precisely what has occurred, as I found myself conducting a series of interviews with retired or former teachers, who are now dedicating themselves to making positive changes in the world, outside of the classroom.
And Katie Craven – owner of Chainyana Jewelry – is one of those changemakers!
Craven is a former elementary physical education teacher who, after five years in teaching, realized – like so many educators these days – that behavior problems were preventing her from actually teaching. After leaving the classroom, she spent time in Oregon as an AmeriCorps volunteer and then worked as an activities director with older residents in a retirement home in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. “Working with older people is exactly what I thought teaching was going to be: having fun, sharing knowledge, getting people moving, and allowing me to be my silly self,” Craven shared.
She began searching for avenues for connection to others after being diagnosed with OCD. Then the unthinkable happened: her father died from Multiple Myeloma cancer, but not before teaching Craven one more lesson – that her idea to connect to others was worth pursuing. We all want to know we are heard, understood, and not alone. This profound realization inspired Craven to throw herself into her business, Chainyana Jewelry.
Every piece from Chainyana Jewelry is custom-made. First, you pick the color of your bracelet’s beads; the bead color represents the struggle that you are going through. For example, green represents depression, while teal is for anxiety, etc.
On your bracelet, Craven also includes beads listing the geographical coordinates of the person who purchased them just before you. These beads are meant to symbolize connection — you with the person before you, and the next customer with you, via your coordinates being listed on their bracelet. Craven’s goal for the future is to take this connection one step further, by requesting permission from each buyer to share their email address with the next customer, in the hope that another connection can be made.
Interested in purchasing your own bracelet or gifting one to a friend? You can visit Chainyana Jewelry at the Gifts That Give Hope Fair Alternative Gift Fair on Sunday, December 1, 2024, at the Farm & Home Center — or purchase on her website now.
Through her bracelets, Katie Craven seeks to connect us, share our burdens, lighten the loads we carry, and honor one another. Chainyana Jewelry’s bracelets are a method of allowing us to own our own struggles, and to recognize that – somewhere else in the world – another bracelet-wearer is wishing you comfort.
