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How it all started!

How it all started!

Posted by Cindy Battisti on 01 15 2024

The number one question people ask me is "how did you get the idea for Opera Bracelets?"

Once upon a time...

In 2007 my husband Andrew and I decided to spend our 15 year wedding anniversary seeing opera in New York … when we listened in future to live Saturday matinee opera broadcasts we wanted to be able to say “we were there once!”

It was planned to be a once in a lifetime trip. As a student of mythology and passing opera fan, my favorite was Die Walkure!

Afterwards, I visited the Met Opera Shop... There were many beautiful pieces of jewelry, but I couldn't help noticing that nothing really evoked Die Walkure.

Right then, standing right there I started to have an idea... wouldn’t it be great if there was a bracelet with nine aurora borealis beads to represent the Valkyries? I had learned in grade school mythology class long ago that the aurora borealis is created by the Valkyries' shields.

In the end I thought “well maybe I’ll just make my own memento.”

The next January, I had some time free from my decorative painting business.  So, during a snowstorm, I experimented with beads to make my Die Walkure Bracelet. After the nine aurora borealis beads, I thought ….well there should be a bead for Wotan… Then the idea literally spiraled (like a bracelet) into representing the whole story. 

I kid you not, it was like a light in a tunnel, the light bulb moment, all the clichés. I hadn’t even got up from the table when I realized my idea could represent ANY opera.

And I thought that if I was looking for something tangible to connect me to my opera memories, possibly other passionate opera lovers were also.

I had reached a point where decorative painting was becoming physically challenging for me (really a business better suited for earlier in one's life). I started to understand that this jewelry idea might need to happen. It might not be optional.

For a couple of years preparations for Opera Bracelets overlapped with my decorative painting business, but by 2010, Opera Bracelets was ready for business with 8 bracelet designs.

Today collection now consists of bracelets representing over 60 different operas... and...you can even find them in the Met Opera Shop!

Remember the Moment

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