My Treasure Box
I remember as a child, having special treasures that belonged only to me, like memories that came with my creation, never to be totally understood by anyone but myself.
When I immigrated to Canada in 1973, I met a great couple, Andrew Smith and Penney Kome. They took me into their home and help me tremendously in my acclimation into Canadian culture, as it were.
Although I have many stories about our experiences in the Ossington area and Pape & Gerrard, one stands out with regard to My Treasure Box.
Andrew was and is, extremely talented, nay gifted, in ways that are unique and require intellectual, and always refreshing understanding of our environment. He taught me many things, one being the magical creations that can be made from Leather.
There has to be a love of the material that can be so artistically maneuvered and sculptured into so many designs and functions. Andrew has that love. And with that love, he handcrafted from creative mental design the most beautiful Treasure Box that anyone could possibly imagine. The hours of personal pride, workmanship, and dedication to bringing pleasure to another human being, come together to be seen here. Notice the suede lining and handcrafted hinges with lacing – incredibly ingenious.
I have kept that Treasure Box for over 40 years, and thus it requires special remembrance to my past and future.
Today, I record the current contents, just because…
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- Sterling Silver Buttons for a leather vest that I once made, but didn’t use,
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- Military patch from Berlin, when I served in the US Military in 1967-1970
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- A piece of crystal that gave me rainbows that led to starting 17 years of manufacturing and wholesaling crystal giftware. A heart-shaped crystal from Istanbul where I purchased crystal in addition to other places in the world.
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- Two gold plated cufflinks with the crystal that were one of a kind sample made for me as president of Lambda Crystal.
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- A CF bracelet that I made a donation to CF for and gave away for CF awareness
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- A piece of carved stone I purchased in Northern Ontario to make into a piece of jewelry.
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- A piece of cubic zirconium that I purchased in Iri, Korea to make figurines from.
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- An “Attitude” pin that I gave away while developing businesses
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- Two collars-stays that I never use?
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- Two guitar picks, just for safe keeping
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- A 1997 D US penny, just because it was minted in Denver which might give it value?
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- A Canada/US pin that I wore in business
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- Two wedding rings, not sure why
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- A Harry Rosen cufflink box with a friendship pin my daughter gave to me in grade 3, a piece of pentagon-shaped crystal that was given to me in Egypt, a lock of my beard that Mary and Molly cut off in 1990, two blue cufflinks and a collar thingy.
It’s only memories!