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| Cardallegiance rosaries and rosary-style choker (center) |
Rosaries were created for a specific purpose, namely, to guide people in meditation on the life of Jesus (hence, the crucifix found at the bottom of a traditional rosary). The five sections of ten beads, known as decades, each represent a different event in the life of Christ and those who pray the rosary use its beads to aid in that meditation. For more information on how all this works, click here.
If you've read this far, you can guess where Cardallegiance stands on the "fashion vs. function" question. Although Cardallegiance sells handcrafted rosaries, the intent is for these objects to be used for their proper function-- prayer and meditation. As you can see in the picture at the start of this post, Cardallegiance also makes rosary-style necklaces. These pieces incorporate some visual elements like partitioned sections of beads, but the designs vary when it comes to how big sections are, what colors come into play, or what sort of drops or centerpieces are used.
Why is this important? I like to let customers know what they're buying. I also like when customers understand the design concept and why a particular piece was created. I've had conversations with some of you about card designs or jewelry pieces, so I know that you like a good story. This topic is also important because Cardallegiance wants to respect sacred objects--whatever their origin. It's important to note, though, that when jewelry and cards (of course!) are created, I may draw on many sources of inspiration. These muses can be religious or secular.
In a nutshell, the important thing to remember is that although fashion does rock, it can and should be overruled by ideals we hold more dear.
