Robin Bond of Lone Bird Designs

...well, it�s me, Robin Bond.

In the fall of 2003, my 22 year marriage ended.  My (then) husband left me because he had "fallen in love" with another woman, and though I hoped to rebuild our relationship, he refused to try.  We were divorced on 9/11 of that year...a date that will always be linked with pain and disaster for our nation and for me in an even more personal way.

I was shattered!  It seemed as if my life came to a grinding halt, the days completely empty and meaningless. I am a Christian and for some reason, I was haunted by the thought that I needed something to wear to remind myself of God's faithfulness during the times when I couldn't see beyond the darkness. In desperation and with no idea of what I was actually looking for, I started searching the internet for a special piece of jewelry to remind me there could someday be a reason to live even though my life had completely fallen apart.  I felt the jewelry needed to be a symbol that would help me hold on, a meaningful reminder to wear continually.  It had to be something that I could always reach for, even when I couldn't think straight.

During my search, I stumbled across some beautiful artisan jewelry and eventually found a necklace with Jeremiah 33:3 engraved in Hebrew on a sterling silver charm (thank you, Lonely Mountain Jewelry at Ruby Lane!).  It was just what I was looking for!  It gave me something to cling to; encouraging words from the Lord.  "Call out to Me and I will show you great and wondrous things which you do not know!"

But there was an unexpected added bonus to my search.  I loved the artisan jewelry I had discovered and I bought a few pieces that were special to me.  Then I had a crazy thought...I just might be able to make some of these neat pieces of jewelry myself!  It sounded interesting, anyway.  Something to do during the long lonely evening hours. So I bought some mixed glass beads and started "playing" with different jewelry designs.  Imagine my surprise when I realized I had actually begun to enjoy myself! I have always liked things that were different and uncommon, so it didn't take long for me to begin another search.  This time, I was looking for beads that were unusual so I could create a higher quality of jewelry. That's when I ran across a couple of glass artists who sold their beads on the internet. They made glass lampwork beads one at a time, heating the different colors and kinds of glass with a torch as they wound it on a mandrel to create intricate works of art. 

I was awed by their incredibly beautiful creations!  I was also hooked!  Lone Bird Designs was born.