A Good Metaphor

A very talented man with a love of the natural world decided to turn the beautiful things he photographed into jewelry. He named his business Wild Bryde, and like any new bride, he made sure she was treated lavishly. .His lovely designs were regularly sold at wildlife and nature stores around the bay area, which is how we eventually connected. In 2009 he joined us for the beaver festival.

Mike was a big hit at the festival, but he doesn’t usually do many events. Too bad for wildlife lovers everywhere, I’m fairly certain that he sold every single pair he had of these:

Last year Worth A Dam launched the Keystone Species Charm bracelet activity with help from a private donor. Lucky for us because it turned out the president of Kiwanis was in a booth directly opposite ours at the Flyway Fiesta Girl Scout Event where we first tried the activity. This allowed the president to see first-hand how enormously popular the event was and helped us get funding to repeat it at last year’s festival. The idea is that children “earn” charms for the bracelet by learning how beavers affect different aspects of the environment. This allows kids to understand pretty complex concepts of habitat and ecosystem, and gives them a beautiful reminder to remember or explain to their friends or parents.

The first year we bought charms from a bead store in Seattle. They looked like this. I spent a lot of effort begging the bead store to donate a little to our effort, which I assumed was in their interest to do since at least three other organizations liked the idea so much they decided to try the activity as well. Alas, even though I was clearly the best customer for animal charms they were ever likely to have, they declined my invitation to sponser us. I hate to be refused. That got me thinking.

When I talked with Mike about joining us for this year’s festival I complained a little about the stingy shop in Seattle and Mike said, hmm, take a look at these. I make custom designs and I bet we could figure out what you need. We might even get the suppliers to donate a little. That way you can pick exactly what you want and make your project unique.

I spent hours and hours pouring through Mike’s amazing creations. I was a little scared to think about what might be possible in case it didn’t work out. I gave him some draft images and he worked out some remarkable choices and I crossed my fingers to see if it could happen. Guess what came in the mail yesterday?

120 each of nine charms, designed and cut by Mike Warner and paid for by Martinez Kiwanis. The activity will be free for children while supplies last. If you have a daughter or grandchild I would definitely bring them along to make one of these. For adults who simply can’t resist there will be a materials fee of 10 dollars. I wouldn’t wait.

Thank you SO much Mike! I love them all, but can you guess what one is my very most favorite? Does this shape remind you of anyone?In case you want to study ahead, this is what we’ll be asking children to explain to the various booths that will have each charm. Who wants to invite Fish & Game?