Being a woman is magnificently wonderful! Yet, the beauty contained in her essence transcends age, culture, and religion. She is truly an exquisite creature. That little girl inside keeps her constantly creating and making things no matter how grown up she becomes. Of course for us women, there are times when we think, “God certainly has a sense of humor.” Sometimes, all it takes to make amazing discoveries and possibly even a sense of worth is for us to sit back and think on the incredible feats we have accomplished with just a little ingenuity. We can be so resourceful overcoming the impossible to fulfill a need, that we wind up in the process doing something really phenomenal and changing a lot of people’s lives without even trying. Go figure, that’s a woman for you!
This is Julie. She is a jewelry designer and owner of Be Juled. But Julie isn’t your ordinary jewelry designer who simply decided that this is what she wanted to be when she grew up. She “stumbled” upon jewelry making out of the necessity for an anklet she needed for an event. She could not find one that she liked, so Julie did what any other rational, thinking woman would do. She made one. Duh! What did you expect her to do? She’s a woman. I know we have our flaws, but what we go through to make sure we have what is needed, only a woman could understand. Julie didn’t just make herself an anklet, she started making little trinkets for her family, her friends, and to give as gifts – just like a woman. She couldn’t just stop at one. As a matter of fact, she became the energizer battery of jewelry design – literally. She never in a million years thought to start a business. “Making jewelry? Please!”
Julie has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Illinois State University. “Uh, psychology and jewelry, just doesn’t add up, or does it?” Julie’s pastor’s wife seemed to think so, and strongly encouraged her to start a business. Well, okay, it was more like pushed her into the “deep end.”
It only takes vision, a little courage and a little faith. Like my mother used to say, “If you have just the faith of the grain of a mustard seed, you can move mountains.” I don’t think Julie had a problem with courage or faith, but sometimes it takes a little push to get you to see things a little more clearly.
I think it’s important to know though that Julie does not “make” jewelry. She “creates” dazzling custom, one-of-a-kind pieces of wearable art that “captures and symbolizes” the spirit of the person who is blessed to be adorned with one of her collections. She experiments with a combination of colors, textures, and shapes to carefully craft a work of art that reflects the personality of her clients. She has a unique ability to transfer positive energy from an individual into her work so that it captures the essence of who they are. No two pieces are alike. But then again, no two women are alike.
This blog isn’t really about Julie, although she’s a great example. This is a story to inspire you to be proud of the woman that you are and have the potential to become, and to encourage you to embrace the little girl within and your appreciation for pretty things. Now I really don’t know if Julie’s pastor’s wife thought that psychology and what Julie does actually goes together or not, but it’s my story and I get to tell it the way I want. I’m a woman with imagination and creativity. I happen to think you are special and have within a very special gift to be shared with the world. Why not be fabulously you and create new ways to do what you enjoy doing. There are many ways to be what you wanted to be when you grow up. By all means ladies, don’t be in such a rush to grow up, capture the heart of the little girl within. Yet, while you are in the process of growing up, “Be Dazzling, Be Empowered, and don’t forget to Be Juled!”
To see more of Julie Henderson’s work, go to bejuled.net
© 2012 – 2013, Atiya. All rights reserved.
Atiya is the author of From Ordinary to Extraordinary and founder of The Marriage Tree. Over the past 20 years, she has dedicated her life to honing her craft and, indeed, her calling – to empower, build and maximize human potential by affecting profound transformation in people’s attitudes, perspectives and behaviors.
