About Flower of Carmel Rosaries
At Flower of Carmel Rosaries, you will find heirloom-quality rosaries, rosary bracelets, and clip-on tenners at non-heirloom prices. My rosaries are fully wire-wrapped and unbreakable (under normal use). I start with traditional Czech rosary crystals, semi-precious stones, lampwork beads, and tensha beads for the Ave and Pater beads, then add vintage or antiques medals from my personal collection and newly-found medals, centers, and crucifixes to create a one-of-a-kind rosary, rosary bracelet, or tenner. Vintage or antique medals are connected with newly-created wire-wrapped/woven handwork to create unique centers.
A Flower of Carmel rosary can be customized for birthdays, weddings, families, sacraments (Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Matrimony, Ordination), or any special occasion; to represent a family, a married couple, the individual’s birthstone(s) and patron/favorite saints, or any licit devotion.
The rosaries, bracelets, and tenners are priced to make an heirloom-quality rosary an affordable option.
About The Rosary-Maker
I am a Catholic wife and mother, by education a choral/orchestral conductor, singer, flutist, and church musician, who has spent a lifetime in church music, teaching (every level from middle school through university and private studio), and educational administration (private and charter school). I learned basic jewelry-crafting skills during my undergraduate studies and in 2015 started to make and repair rosaries and rosary bracelets. It was my own personal rosary and my son’s rosary falling apart that had me saying, ‘These rosaries shouldn’t be falling apart!’ and then pulling out tools I had not used in years with the conviction that I could do better than that. I fell in love with the contemplative process of creating a rosary, and I began to think about my collection of antique and vintage medals and how they could have new life as rosary centers through the art of wire-wrapping/wire-weaving. Flower of Carmel Rosaries was born out of my love of creating these beautiful sacramentals using those vintage and antique parts and personalizing them to the recipient. See the gallery for examples.
After years of teaching university and private school, being a school principal, and working as a church musician, I reopened my private music studio (ajoyfulspiritstudio.net) where I teach voice, flute, and piano. I also direct an independent Gregorian chant schola, Schola Vox Clara, and teach a related youth schola for our local Catholic homeschool group; and direct the schola for Holy Redeemer and Old St. Mary’s Catholic Churches (SSPX). You can find my teaching philosophy and professional biography at my studio page as well.
About Wire-Wrapped ‘Unbreakable’ Rosaries
All of my rosaries and rosary bracelets are fully wire-wrapped, meaning that each loop on either side of each bead is not just an open loop pinched to ‘close’ it, but the wire is wrapped around itself so that the loop cannot bend or pop open or break. I do not loop the wire across the beads because that loop can be caught on things, and the wire across the bead is bothersome to some people (for instance, those with arthritis in their hands).
I use precious metal wires for my rosaries. Most popular is the 1/10 silver-filled wire, which is sterling silver permanently bonded to a red or white brass core, with the sterling making up one-tenth of the total weight of the wire. Silver-filled items wear like sterling silver and look like sterling silver, but at a fraction of the price, and the sterling does not wear off like silver-plate does. (The bonded silver is over 100 times the thickness of silver plating.) I also use 14K 1/10 gold-filled wire, which has one-tenth of the wire being 14K gold; and jeweler’s bronze, which starts a rich golden color and eventually acquires a rich brown patina.
Because a wire-wrapped rosary will not break under normal devotional use and even under unusual use, these rosaries should not be given to children as toys. If you are concerned about safety, just ask and I will add one or more open jump rings to break under stress. No warranty regarding safety is made for rosaries or rosary bracelets.
Should the wrapped loops of your rosary break under normal devotional use, I will repair it at no charge; just contact me for instructions on sending it. Breakage of the beads or metal parts, or breakage from non-standard use, is not warrantied but may be repaired at the customer’s expense.
About the Rosary Bracelets
My rosary bracelets are created with the same wire-wrapped loops as my rosaries; however, so that the bracelet may come off in an emergency if caught on something, one or both sided of the clasp are joined with an open jump loop which will pull open under pressure. If you would prefer a magnetic clasp (with or without a safety chain) please contact me. No warranty regarding safety is made for rosaries or rosary bracelets.
My bracelets are sized by the size of the Ave and Pater beads, with the crucifix, medal(s), and clasp all in an artistically balanced size. The larger-sized bracelets in particular are not just made larger with an extension chain, but are integrally larger due to the size of the beads and clasp used.
The crucifix and devotional medals are mounted with wrapped loops, not jump rings, so they do not pull open and catch on things and thus lose your medals.
Bracelets can usually be customized to fit a larger wrist, and sometimes to fit a smaller wrist; please ask! The clasps are usually set up as if the bracelet will be worn on the right wrist, with the left hand manipulating the clasp and the movement of beads from left to right as you raise your wrist (crucifix-Pater-medal-Aves [plus additional devotional medals if desired]); if you would prefer to wear it on your left wrist, please let me know and I will change the clasp and medal placement.
I also create ladder-rosary bracelets upon request (there is an extra charge for the chain).