Acadiana woman hand-makes custom rosaries to add personal touch to daily prayer practice
Lauren Vallet was struggling trying to figure out what to get her boyfriend's family for Christmas. She didn't want to give his mom and grandmother something that could end up in the back of a closet. She wanted a gift with meaning.
With a little Pinterest inspiration and YouTube instruction, the 23-year-old hand-made their Christmas presents — custom rosaries of wire, glass beads and delicate metal crosses. Vallet customized the gifts, using letter beads to spell out their names.
She had leftover material so she made her mom one. They were a big hit.
"I made everybody cry for Christmas," Vallet admits.
It wasn't just her friends and family who like them. Requests poured in after photos made their way to Facebook.
It was Christmas break of her senior year at Louisiana State University, and Vallet had time to fill the orders, many of them coming from her hometown of Ville Platte and the surrounding area.
She enjoyed the making, having always been into crafting, so she kept going, started her business Rosaries by Lauren.
"Then it was just when I wasn't studying or working I was making them," Vallet said. "It got a little hard during finals, but we made it work."
The last few months included not only finals but also Easter, Mother's Day, graduations and end-of-year recitals, all of which meant a lot of orders.
She makes about eight to 10 a week, she said, and each takes about 30-45 minutes to complete. But she loves every minute.
"It makes me happy that people were giving people something they will pass down," she said.
'This was specially made for me'
She's also received orders for brides, high school senior nights, first communion, birthdays and just about any special occasion.
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"I can tweak it to each person's personality or interests," she said. "I feel like it makes you as a kid more excited when you know this was specially picked out for me or specially made for me. It has my name on it or the beads are my favorite color or sport."
Vallet has made rosaries with names, beads painted like softballs, charms in the shape of ballet slippers or medical symbols. The latter was inspired by her grandmother, a nurse who keeps a rosary in her pocket all day at work.
One she made for herself features a cameo at the center, giving it an antique look that aligns with her personal style. But she tends to like all of her creations.
"I want to keep them all," she said. "It's hard to let them go."
It took some time and trial and error to figure it all out. She used different techniques and materials, making adjustments when one type of wire was too stiff to stay in a pocket, for example.
"Now I think I have it down to a science," Vallet said.
'I'm helping others practice their faith'
The making process has been one of faith as well, as she is creating items central to the Catholic faith practice.
"It has brought me closer to my faith," she said. "I like making the rosaries, and it helps me remember that we have to pray the rosary and have to follow our faith. And I like that I'm helping others practice their faith."
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Vallet graduated May 21 with her bachelor's from LSU. She studied sociology with a minor in psychology, and now she looks ahead to graduate occupational therapy school.
In the meantime, she'll be working full-time at a pediatric therapy center in Baton Rouge and running her business on the side. In addition to rosaries, she's begun making larger blessing beads with crosses, which can be displayed within a home. She can use wooden beads or work with recycled African glass to make them.
She takes orders through Facebook, and she has inventory for sale at Blake's Gifts in Ville Platte. Most come from Acadiana, including some from her alma mater Sacred Heart High School in Evangeline Parish, but she's shipped all the way to California.
Contact children's issues reporter Leigh Guidry at Lguidry@theadvertiser.com or on Twitter @LeighGGuidry.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Acadiana woman's hand-made rosaries add personal flair to daily prayer
