The Wish

This knot is called 如意 (Ruyi). In Chinese, it means: may it be as you wish.

The shape comes from a cloud, or a mushroom, or a sceptre held by monks when something important was about to begin. Four clover knots fold into each other — one form, one intention.

For centuries, when someone was leaving, you gave them this. When someone was aging into wisdom, you gave them this. When words weren't enough, you tied this.

Kathy made this one in Victoria, on a day when the Arbutus trees caught the afternoon light. The red cord is that red — Arbutus bark peeling in the wind off the Salish Sea. The Garry Oak gold comes from the oak groves near Beacon Hill Park, autumn grass before it dries. The colour in the small coiled rings is Camas Bloom — the soft blue-violet that spreads across the grasslands in spring. And the gold at the end, Pacific Amber, is the colour of rock pools at Botanical Beach when the tide goes out and the sun finds the kelp.

Every piece is entirely handmade by Kathy. Slight variations in tension and shape are a mark of authentic human craftsmanship — each bracelet carries the particular hand of its maker.