Every Christmas, I offer personalized gifts, made by me, to my loved ones. So when this year the question came up of what I was going to offer my father and my partner, I couldn't find an answer for some days. In previous years, I had already offered them bracelets, cufflinks, pins, so I didn't feel like repeating these surprises.
So, computers have always fascinated my father, as well as the pieces that are in their interior, the parts that make the machine itself. Some of them, almost everyone often doesn't even know they exist or what are they used for. When a computer stops working here at the house, my dad doesn't simply put it to recycle. He has fun opening it and removing pieces from inside, which, I admit, sometimes are fascinating due to their shapes, geometries, materials, and complexity. So, in order to personalize his bookmark, I decided to use one of those pieces.
I confess that I do not know the functionality of this transparent long plastic piece that has parallel wires inside it and I did not bother to know more about it, as its functionality was not important to me. What I liked was the fact that all these parallel lines reminded me of urban plans and highways.
So I decided to cut some of this computer piece and I have joined it with another piece made in Sterling Silver, which has well-defined edges and where we find the letter C, for Carlos.
For my partner, I had to "tell another story". Technologies are not his cup of tea, quite the contrary, therefore it wouldn't make any sense to personalize his bookmark by adding computer pieces to a precious material. So I started wondering what would my partner really appreciate?
I remember that he really likes challenges, games, and deciphering secret codes. So why not send him a secret code through a bookmark? A message he would find every time whenever he opens his book. Loved the idea and that was exactly what I did.
Also made in sterling silver, the shape of his bookmark is a simple rectangular, as the important is not the shape of the object but the message. And yes, there is a little heart at the end of the red thread. What can I say? Love is kitsch. According to the Oxford art dictionary , kitsch is defined as "art, objects or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way ..." So yes, I simply left the prejudices behind and admit I love that little symbol of love.
By now you are probably wondering what the secret message says? I am sorry to disappoint you, but a secret message is not meant to be told. Nevertheless, now I am the one wondering if you also like secret messages and maybe you would like to get sentimental and send someone a secret message too?
