At the age of seventeen, I sat in a doctor’s office to hear my diagnosis. The relief of knowing what was wrong with me, being able to give it a name, was short lived when he informed me, “You are seventeen and your life is over.” This remark was followed by a long list of things I should give up on, including “pipe-dreams” of further education or ever living independently. There was no hope of healing, no treatment and no cure.
 
While this hit me like a punch in the gut, I remember thinking in that very moment, “What right does he have to decide that my life is over? Nobody gets to decide that but me.”
 
That began my journey into alternative therapies. Changing my diet and how I managed my life, so that I could continue to live it! Living with chronic illness isn’t easy and comes with a great many additional challenges that those blessed with good health don’t usually have to worry about. In addition to my physical diagnosis of Fibromyalgia, my mental health also suffered and that is when I found aromatherapy.

Right now, I am making a lot of gemstone lava bead bracelets. I love being able to use different gemstones, like rose quartz and aventurine, or the bright unique beads of striped agate. Even if I repeated a design, the unique composition of natural gemstones mean no two bracelets will ever be exactly the same.
 
​​My love of gemstones began when I was a child, on our family holidays to Charmouth and Lyme Regis along the Jurassic Coast. We would go fossil hunting along the beach, it was like a treasure hunt for long forgotten relics. Then we would go to the little gift shops and fossils shops, for another type of treasure hunt. We would find the gigantic fossils of ammonites and ichthyosaurs on display, that were always a wonder to look at. Huge chunks of amethyst that made me dream of caves lined with crystals. And among the treasures were smaller, affordable pieces; treasures that I could take home with me.
 
I fell in love with the little seaside shops with unique handmade goods, the shell and bead bracelets; even the trips down little cobbled alleyways to find hidden shops added to the magic of these holidays. I remember the joy of finding those little treasures that most excited me, being able to choose a few affordable pieces that I could take home with me. To this day, when people come to my home, they are commenting on the various objects and ornaments that I picked up on my holidays. In 2010, I returned to Charmouth and Lyme Regis on holiday with my mum and finally bought a pair of pink agate bookends; something I had wanted for a long time! I have a small pewter fairy on a chunk of amethyst crystals that I bought when I was little and I very much hope I can return to the Jurassic Coast soon, to find some more treasures!
 
Meanwhile, that's what I want Fairy Cove Curiosities to be; it's a little treasure trove of beautiful things that add a sprinkle of magic to the recipe of life. I have strung beads made of my favourite gemstones to make unique and colourful bracelets! What are some of your favourite gemstones?