“The finest rosaries I have ever seen” have… returned! – UPDATES

nce upon a time I used to write about the finest rosaries I had ever seen.   They were easy on the eyes, like jewelry, but they were as strong as steel cables.

The woman who made them, Gayle, had started up a cottage business.  I helped her get up and running on the web waaaay back in the days of Compuserve and the Catholic Online Forum.  Gayle was also on the staff of the Forum.  She, with Dawn, and a couple of others were a serious hoot.

Gayle’s life was complicated and had some ups and downs. But she made rosaries.  In gratitude for my early help, she would send me rosaries when I wanted to give ordination gifts or if I had given mine to someone whom I sensed was in need of it.  In a few instances, the gift of the rosary was a life changer.

Gayle died in 2016.   I still have one of her rosaries and I will never let it go.  I’m tempted to be buried with it, but I think I’ll pass it on.  Perhaps someone will pray for me with it.

There has been a development.

Gayle’s daughter, Marian, had learned her mother’s technique of making rosaries.

She has decided to start her own business, as her mother had.

>>HERE<<  [UPDATED]

She wrote that she is sending me one.  I am sure it will be as amazing as Gayle’s were.  Even if were half as amazing, and as strong, it would be a fine rosary.  I very much look forward to receiving it.

In the meantime, check out her shop.  She wrote: “It’s just an Etsy page for now, but I hope that I can begin my own website once I have some momentum.”

Do you suppose you readers could give her some momentum?

There are lots of religious professions and marriages and ordinations going on at this time of the year.

Gifts… I’m just sayin’.

UPDATE: 5 June

Marian wrote:

I cannot thank you enough! In less than 24 hours, my page has had almost 5,000 views and I have sold 13 rosaries!

To which I respond: Those will be 13 very happy people.

UPDATE: 8 June

Marian had written that she would send me a rosary, so that I could see with my own eyes what she is producing. I got it right away, but I waited until today, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, to show it to you.

It came in a bag within a small gift box itself mailed in a standard priority mailer box.

As you can see, this rosary has a Sacred Heart medal at the connecting point.

This rosary is a bit lighter than the last one I had from her mother.  It doesn’t have the little “caps” and the beads are a little smaller.  That makes it a bit more compact.  It is a good rosary for walking, if you get my drift, which is something I mentioned to her.  I had asked for it to be “not too long” so that it wouldn’t touch the ground when kneeling and easy to carry in one hand when walking without touching the ground.

In other words, she incorporated my suggestions.

Seeing is indeed believing!

UPDATE: 16 June 2018

This is interesting. There was a story about these rosaries and their maker, Gayle’s daughter Marian, in her local newspaper.

Check it out, HERE.  With photos!

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
This entry was posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Just Too Cool, The Campus Telephone Pole. Bookmark the permalink.

5 Comments

  1. Those are awesome! She ought to do well. All of them are so different than what you see online and in Catholic gift shops.

  2. RichR says:

    There is one thing I lost that I really am saddened by, and it was my wire-wrapped rosary. I got a Combat Rosary, which I love, but the individuality and effort that go into a custom wire-wrapped Rosary make it a personal treasure.

  3. LeeGilbert says:

    Perhaps it would help her sales if she included among the rosaries she has available through her Etsy page at least one rosary similar to the one she sent to you. As it is, the rosaries she has on display seem entirely geared to women. Generally men want black beads, or steel. The one she sent you looks very attractive and I would like, perhaps, to get something similar for a newly ordained priest, but would appreciate seeing a price.

    Related, what would you suggest as possible gifts for newly ordained priests? Presumably he already has a rosary, so would not that and similar items be akin to carrying coals to Newcastle?

    [I’ve written about this on more than one occasion. For example: HERE.]

  4. wmeyer says:

    Lee Gilbert, I noticed, as well, that there is no rosary on her page which seems designed for a man. There is a contact link at the top of her page, though, and I would guess she may be receptive to mail from prospective buyers.

  5. JustaSinner says:

    Just purchased an obsidian with delicate rose buds as the major beads in the beginning. Very delicate, and quite feminine I may add…but have always thought of the rosary as Mary’s Own, so feminine is as it should be. And at 6’ 5” and 300 pounds, I don’t run the risk of any bullying…

Comments are closed.