Business & Butterflies Making A Difference
by Sharon Allen Gilder
Reprinted with permission from Calvert Independent

            American Indian lore credits butterflies with making wishes come true.  As legend has it, you must first capture a butterfly and whisper a wish to it.  Since butterflies make no sound, they cannot share your wish with anyone but the Great Spirit who hears and sees all.  In appreciation for giving the butterfly its freedom, your wish is taken to the heavens and granted.  Calvert County natives, Heather Maertens and Kristen Hobar of Maertens Fine Jewelry and Gifts, captured the spirit of granting wishes when a car accident, a lost possession, talent and attendance at a breast cancer event converged to make a difference. 
Hobar never imagined she would become a jeweler but, seven years ago she was involved in a car accident and the only piece of jewelry not returned to her was a butterfly bracelet purchased by her father twenty-five years earlier for her mother.  She was referred to Maertens and convinced her to re-create the bracelet which she did from Hobar’s memory.  Hobar’s interest in the jewelry design process transported her from customer to friend.  She explained, “Heather said if I went away to school, came back and wanted a job, I had one.”  Hobar apprenticed, studied, became a bench jeweler and the rest is solid gold and silver history.
Next, Maertens and Hobar spun their attraction to butterflies into a specialty design taking elusive to exclusive.  The metamorphosis of their concept began as a sort of epiphany.  They attended a Brunch & Brem event at Old Field Inn in November 2007 to hear Dr. Rachel Brem, Director of George Washington University Medical Center’s Breast Imaging and Intervention Center, speak about her mission to eradicate breast cancer as a life threatening disease.  Maertens said, “Everything Dr. Brem said absolutely moved me.  With the foundation’s motto ‘put wings on hope,’ the butterfly was appropriate and symbolic for the Brem Foundation.”  Hobar got to work and created an exclusive butterfly pendant.  She said, “I designed the Brem butterfly so it would stand out above all the rest that I’ve made in the past.”  Maertens Jewelers donates 15% of the proceeds from sales of the pendant to Brem Foundation. 
Hobar said, “I didn’t know jewelry was going to be my niche.  The butterfly started my whole career.  It’s great to do something that’s going to help women out there who need it and it’s wonderful being a part of that.” 
Maertens gemologist, Jamie Tiralla said, “The response to the butterfly pendants has been really good.  Most of the people who buy it have their own personal story of breast cancer.  They have either survived it or know someone who has.  They can give the pendant as a gift or give it to themselves.”  Tiralla added, “I think butterflies are beautiful.  It’s neat the way they fly around, the motion of their wings and the lightness.”
Local CPA and longtime customer, Patricia Blackford agrees.  “I was attracted to the butterfly pendants because they represent life, happiness and freedom from cancer.”  Three years ago, Blackford was diagnosed with breast cancer.  After two lumpectomies and six weeks of radiation, I was done.  I was so lucky and I know that.”  She prefers not to call herself a survivor she said, “Because it implies something very dire that happened.  In my case, there was not a huge need to fight something to live.  I knew I needed to address it and move on.  I never felt like I was fighting for my life.  I don’t mean to trivialize the disease at all, it’s just the way it affected my life.  When diagnosed you need to address it and do whatever it takes.” 
Blackford purchased two pendants, one for herself and one for her daughter-in-law’s mother who was diagnosed with breast cancer three days after Blackford’s surgery.  She presented the gift to her this past summer at the Relay for Life held at Calvert High School.  Her note with the gift was simple yet poignant, “With all it represents, compliments of me.”
To date, numerous butterflies have taken flight from their perches at Maertens with more ready to launch.  Maertens noted, “People just love the butterflies with the orange sapphires on the antennae.  They are into the whole story about the ‘power of orange.’”  Her reference to orange denotes the Brem Foundation’s use of the color at events thanks to inspiration from Maryland color abstractionist, Ellen Gordon Gordon’s painting, Power of Orange.  Gordon chose the piece to donate to the foundation because, “Orange is the universal color of healing.  In color therapy, orange is used to raise energy and increase immunity.”
Butterflies and community service are recurring themes with Maertens and her husband, Darren.  She grew up in Calvert County and wants to stay involved.  “We want to give back as much as we can.  Local businesses should give back and stay in touch with what’s going on.”  Paraphrasing a favorite passage she said, “Butterflies remind us to get up and move.  If we can move, then we can dance and dance brings joy.”

To learn more visit:  www.maertensjewelry.com and  www.bremfoundation.org