Cushy, Warm & Fuzzy (Cushing's Syndrome Awareness Pendants)

I had never heard of Cushing's Syndrome before, and I imagine you haven't either. It's an endocrine disorder, the polar opposite of Addison's Disease. Basically, a hyperactive thyroid produces too much cortisol, and causes all sorts of problems. When I Googled it, I found more information on the syndrome in companion animals than I did humans.

So when Amber convo'd me asking me to modify my RAINN-y Day awareness pendants as Cushing's Syndrome pendants, I didn't know where to start. A Google search doesn't even turn up what the ribbon looks like (It's blue on one tail, gold on the other, for the record). Amber actually had to email me an image because the two I sent to her, while blue and gold, were for other diseases.

Then there was sizing. She wanted a very small pendant, less than 1", and I was worried that making it on that small a scale would make it 1) hard to tell it was a ribbon and 2) be too delicate to be stable. I ended up making one that was 1.5", and one that was just under 1". And, since she had been patient enough to wait for these through the birth of my daughter, I listed both for the price of one.

Turns out she loved them both, and was incredibly appreciative to find something that would show support for this surprisingly common but little known disease.

Lessons learned:
1) Cushing's Syndrome is near impossible to find anything about
2) 32-gauge wire may be bad for bracelets and anklets, but stands up well as a bead mesh base
3) Etsy buyers are the greatest: patient, understanding, and uber-pleasant to work with

And... now I know I can create pendants for any issue. Just ask!