Wish Upon A Necklace

BEYOND BEAUTY: Abington woman's necklaces may make your wishes come true

By DRAKE LUCAS The Patriot Ledger

When springtime hit, Jo-Ann Coe was at a loss for where to get gifts for all of the graduations, weddings and birthdays coming up. She wanted one simple gift she could give for everything, something with meaning but not too expensive.

It wasn't just wishful thinking. And it was all wishful thinking.

Borrowing an idea from her childhood and adding a little elegance, Coe attached a small silver pendant to a silk thread and fastened it with silver clasps. When her friends received the necklaces, they were told to make a wish as they put it on. When the thread wore through, the wish would come true.

‘‘I think of these wish necklaces as something more than jewelry,'' said Coe, 36, of Abington. ‘‘They have a story behind them and they also represent the story of the person wearing one.''

The idea came from a camp craft Coe remembered where children would make the necklaces for each other out of crochet thread and a plastic bead.

Coe's simple idea caught on and spread by word of mouth to the Internet where she began selling them for $25 each. Each necklace comes packed in a tin box, wrapped in decorative paper and a small bow.

Coe's next stop might be the new Martha Stewart show. She went to the Martha Stewart web site to complain that she didn't get her July issue of the magazine. While there, she clicked on the button for ‘‘be a guest on her show'' and within four days, the show contacted her to say they were interested. She sent them some samples and now her appearance on the show ‘‘is in the works.''

The necklaces come in four styles, chosen by Coe for personal reasons. The clover was for a friend and represents the Boston area; she first made the starfish for a friend who loves the Cape but was relocating to Washington, D.C.; the heart she made for her sister; and the flower she just thought was cute. She will introduce a peace sign soon.

If worn continually, the string breaks in about three months and then the pendant can be transferred to a charm bracelet.

The flower is the most popular style for young girls, while teenagers prefer the heart. The starfish was a big sell over the summer and Coe just recently read that clovers will be in style this fall.

Coe prefers to stick with the basic four designs, but she has filled special requests.

She pulled out a necklace with a bird charm that someone had ordered for a friend whose brother had just died. The bird had been significant to him.

‘‘People will tell me their story and I can think of that while I make the necklace,'' she said.

People have contacted her for many occasions - expectant mothers, bridesmaids and graduations.

Stacey Miller, 36, of New Jersey saw a friend's wish necklace and then found the web site. She ordered five necklaces - a flower for her niece's first day of kindergarten, a flower for her friend for Christmas and three starfish for a beach weekend she plans to have with her mother and sister.

Her mother's oldest brother died last year and she plans to give the necklaces to her mother and sister on the first night of their trip, a way to look toward the future.

‘‘The starfish is something beachy,'' she said. ‘‘It is a way for us to commemorate the trip.''

Coe's necklace not only solved the gift problem, it also gave her a project to work on. After being a stay-at-home mom for six years, her son, Zachary, will be going into first grade this fall and her daughter, Emma Jane, is 4. She wanted to have a career and be home for the kids. The necklaces provide both.

Emma Jane and Zachary were curious from the start. Emma Jane wanted to try on all the different necklaces. Her mother was originally wearing the flower, but Emma Jane liked it so Coe switched to the starfish.

Zachary made a game of trying to guess people's wishes as they put on the necklaces. He decided that one of Coe's friends needed a husband and that is what she was wishing for, so the friend now gives Zachary e-mail updates on how that wish is coming along.

Emma Jane and Zachary also wanted to help make the necklaces, so Coe gave them some embroidery thread and small plastic buttons in colorful shapes. They have made them for all of their friends.

Coe's work space is her kitchen table and most of the work is done after the children are in bed. She doesn't turn on the radio or the television.

‘‘I like silence,'' she said. ‘‘I am busy all day with the kids. When you are a stay-at-home mom, silence is golden.''

While her husband reads or chats at the table, she pieces together the necklaces and packages them. Then they are given to friends nearby or sent out to places as far away as Los Angeles and Washington state as she spreads wishes to others while fulfilling her own.

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