The family was devastated.īefore Holly was cremated, Larry asked the veterinarian to extract and clean the dog’s canine teeth in the hopes of creating a memento for him and his family. Despite a leg amputation and several rounds of chemotherapy, the cancer spread to her spine, and Holly had to be put down. Sadly, in 2021, Holly was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer of her own. Throughout Karen’s cancer journey and the subsequent good and bad days, Holly never left her side. Holly quickly became a much-beloved friend and pet to Larry, his wife, and their two young daughters. It didn’t take long to realize the pup was part of their family. It was there where they first met Holly, a curious and playful puppy who was immediately drawn to Karen. Around this time, a family friend’s red Doberman had puppies, and Larry and his family decided to visit the litter to take their mind off things. In 2015, Larry’s wife, Karen, was diagnosed with cancer, and had to undergo surgery, as well as many rounds of radiation. This helped me see a clearer picture at what he wanted to achieve with this project and the meaning behind it. When I met with the client, Larry, and he told me his story, I could hear the love and devotion he had for his family. I didn’t know if it was a project I could do, especially considering I was working with a new and unfamiliar material. When I took on custom jobs, I always had a business to back me up if something were to go wrong. Before the pandemic, I had worked as an in-house jeweller at a small shop. I can’t lie-going into the initial consultation, I felt nervous. A heartfelt story Figure 1: To demonstrate to her client the different approaches for constructing the commissioned pendants, Virginia Muralt put together a picture board prior to their design meeting. Little did I know the project would be one of the most meaningful, challenging, and rewarding custom jewellery design and fabrication projects of my career thus far. So, when Corey brought up this potential custom job, I was intrigued.

To supplement costs, I was working a full-time job in retail and goldsmithing in my off time. I had completed some small repairs for friends and family, but nothing too substantial. I started doing independent jewellery jobs as part of my own small goldsmithing business after getting laid off amidst the pandemic. Necklaces… Out of dog teeth? I had heard stories about jewellers receiving somewhat-unconventional requests, like pendants with human hair, but this was the first time I had been approached for something in this ballpark. Understanding my confusion, Corey explained his potential client wanted these necklaces made from his dog’s canine teeth.

This struck me as odd, as Corey isn’t a jeweller he’s a taxidermist. By Virginia Muralt Photos courtesy Virginia MuraltĪ few months back, my friend, Corey, asked if I would be interested in taking on a custom jewellery job, as he had been contacted by someone looking to have necklaces made.

Necklace bails