No Less a Starfish…
   Shortly after my first mastectomy, I was walking on the beach reflecting on the changes in my life and in my self image. As I glanced down, I found this wonderful starfish. One of its arms was curved and bent around.
   At that moment, from someplace deep within myself I had an overwhelming awareness… a sense of meaning. This was no less a starfish because it had a bent arm, and I am no less a woman because I have lost my breasts.
   The message I want to share with others is very simple. Whatever our life experiences, difficulties, losses, or challenges, we are more than our perceived limitations. Hold fast to this truth - it is that heart part of who we really are that matters most. Deep within each of us is the spirit to survive… the ability to become all we are meant to be.

Katherine Stephens,
Breast Cancer Survivor
and Advocate

   After the story was published in Coping Magazine and the Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul Series, the image of the starfish stayed with me. I wanted to create a piece of jewelry to symbolize its message of hope and healing.
   The local junior college offered classes in jewelry making. I learned the lost wax process, how to solder, cut and polish metal and stone setting. We worked mostly with silver, which was the perfect medium for the prototype I wanted to create.
   The instructor was Tommy Doctor. He has been a jeweler for many years and currently has his business in Keller, TX. (The Jewelry Doctor) Mr. Doctor was extremely knowledgeable and went out of his way to help me.
   To see the concept of my starfish with the bent arm as a piece of sterling silver jewelry was very affirming. With the encouragement of several friends, I started searching for a craftsman or jeweler who had the capability of making the pieces in volume. My attempts took me all over the country… from Hallmark in Kansas City, KS to Providence, RI. From there, I went to Boston and finally ended up back in Texas. It was the fall of 2002 that I approached Jeep Collins who has been a jewelry maker in Fredericksburg, Texas for many years.
   Jeep warmly and graciously embraced the concept. The first pieces of the No Less a Starfish line were introduced in the 2002 Fall/Winter catalog.
   I feel very blessed and consider it great honor to be a part of the Jeep Collins Jewelry collection. His work stands for quality and outstanding craftsmanship.