Here's yet another reason why I love my job: I got a "convo" (an internal email "conversation") in one of my online Etsy shops last week from a woman named Heather. She was referring to a listing I'd posted, in which I offer custom made-to-order ceramic ornaments.  Her message said,

Could you do something with a lion? My daughter was diagnosed with a life threatening bone marrow disease this year and our motto has become "Be CORAgeous" with a lion. I love the look of your clay ornaments but I don't know if a lion is possible. You can see the lion that my big kids drew on Cora's facebook page, www.facebook.com/BeCORAgeous?ref=ts. I know there are photos of us wearing her shirts in the album on her page. Thanks so much! - Heather

Ok, wow. So of course I went to the Facebook page and saw the bright, grinning face of an unbelievably cute toddler, Cora, variously surrounded by friends and family, and/or wired up to hospital gizmos. A little poking around the page revealed that the family lives in Maryland, and that Cora's 5 year-old brother was the generous donor of bone marrow in a recent transplant operation.

I responded that yes, I'd be honored to make a lion ornament for the family, and I'd give them a bulk discount if they wanted to order a bunch. After several back-and-forths, Heather ordered 15. I shaped them out of clay earlier today. Soon they'll be glazed, fired, strung with ribbon or rafia, and shipped off to the east coast to be distributed as gifts to Cora's family, friends, and caregivers.

It's magical when craft intersects with life in such a meaningful way. And it's even better when the sweet little lion design is so simple that it translates into a straight-forward and successful project. So here's to the designs of children, the strength of Heather's family, and the future health of little Cora!

P.S. I'm not writing this post in order to sell more ornaments, but if you're curious or have an idea of your own, that section of my shop is here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/PamConsear?section_id=10473439