Commemorating Across the Universe

So, when I found out a book deal, I went on the hunt for something really special to commemorate it. I decided on jewelry--I wanted something I could wear, maybe even pass down. There are a lot of star-shaped jewelry, but I wanted something special and unique.

My next thought was to get a class ring made. Instead of a school name, I'd have the book title engraved, and my "graduation year" would appropriately be 2011. There were few designs I liked, though, and the ones I found were all vastly overpriced. I grew really frustrated with the whole idea.

Then I went to my source for unique, amazing stuff: Etsy. And I found Rickson. Rickson designs and makes her own jewelry--and when I say this, I don't mean she pieces together strands of beads or twists wire, I mean she created custom molds and works with liquid metal and is amazing. Take, for example, this necklace which is beautiful on both sides:

 Beautiful, right? I just adore it--I love how the staircase leads to a door, how the heart is so dark on one side and light on the other--it's amazing.

So clearly I was dealing with an artist here, but I wanted something specific to my book. Well, as most of you know, the book's title came from the Beatle's song, "Across the Universe." Not only is it the title, but it's my favorite Beatle's song, and something that I listened to over and over and over again while I was writing the book.

And Rickson makes what she calls song rings--a ring with a snippet of the actual music notes of the song engraved into the metal. Can you make me one using "Across the Universe?" I asked. "Can you get it to me before my book launch?" And because she's so awesome & amazing, Rickson got it to me (after shipping express from Canada!) just in time for the launch!

I love it--it's perfect. Totally unique, and totally perfect to commemorate the book launch! And not only does the outside have the musical notes of the song, the inside is engraved with something from the song that perfectly fits the book... "words are flowing."

Remember when I said Rickson was awesome? She's so awesome that she actually made a video of how she handcrafted the ring!!!! Be sure to check it out here: she makes the ring out of wax first, then pours plaster around it, then melts the wax and uses the plaster as a mold. Even when I knew the basic process, I had no idea how much detail and care went into the ring's production until I saw the video. Thank you so much for making the ring and the video, Rickson!!