The day began on the exquisite and peaceful veranda where the sunlight was sneaking through the shades.

Instrumental guitar music played above the sound of dogs barking and neighbors on their morning jog. The crisp, cool air brought fresh inspiration to an idea that had been bouncing around the edges of David’s imagination. It was here that the significance of the North Star burst onto the pages of his journal.

Everyone remembers the carefree childhood experience of lying in the grass, gazing up at the stars, expanding our thoughts, our margins and our imagination. Surely tempting us to dream a bit. Visions of the well-known constellations came to mind, but on this day, the North Star captured his attention.

Captivated by the message and meaning of the North Star – permanence, constancy, stability – he was even more intrigued. Reading more, he was drawn into the scenario of imagining being in the middle of the ocean with howling waves and wind, finding only the North Star as the navigation to safety.

“It just made me think of all the storms that we have in our life. And sometimes when we just can’t see land… it’s overwhelming. It’s scary,” says Gardner. “We all have a North Star that we look to for stability, for purpose, for truth. For me, it’s always God and God’s Word. It is where I receive comfort, stability, purpose, acceptance and love. For other people, that might be someone or something else.”

Taking his pencil and journal, the sketching flowed into what became David Gardner’s North Star pendant. A simple and subtle star design with fluid curves and three dimensional ‘ups and downs’ swooping from wide to narrow. An intentionally off-set east and west with a dominant north and south orientation.