My adventure started about 35 years ago. I lived in LA at the time, and walked into a store at a mall nearby. It was one of those stores, popular at the time, where they carried handmade items by various artists. That is something that I have always been drawn to.
I spotted a display case with hand painted coins. I had never seen them, and they were a little more expensive than I expected. I was totally fascinated, and decided to buy one for myself for an upcoming birthday, or Christmas, or something. That is how I usually justify buying the more expensive treasures. My husband plays along and the gift is from him. Great deal for both of us.
I returned to the same store about 6 months later to buy another one, and was told the artist had retired. When we made the move to Santa Rosa in Northern California a few years later, the coin treasure came with me but mostly sat in my jewelry box. You see, as much as I loved jewelry in those days, I was not confident in wearing it. So most of the time I didn't wear any jewelry at all.