LEO Spouse Questionnaire

I received an email from The Marshall Project. They are looking for participants to help in filling out an online questionnaire. Here is an excerpt:

"I'm writing to you from The Marshall Project, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization covering criminal justice. We aim to educate and raise awareness around the criminal justice system. 

One of our initiatives is to share the perspectives of individuals involved in the criminal justice system (police officers, former inmates, corrections officers, public defenders, etc.) through a set of questionnaires we publish on our site. 

We recently put together a questionnaire for spouses of police officers and wanted to see if you, and any other women or men you know, might be interested in sharing your experiences."

Here is a link to the questionnaire: http://goo.gl/forms/ThNc3sdNS9

Feature: Skylark Chainmaille- The Thin Blue Line Series

Today I am featuring a talented jeweler. Elisa, at Skylark Chainmaille. Please read about her, and her Thin Blue Line Series, and enter a giveaway for her store. See details below!

When I was a kid, my favorite cousin became a cop. I remember he’d come by the house for dinner (we were in his sector), in his uniform, and I’d peek shyly at him. I thought he was so cool. The absolute epitome of a public servant - ready, willing, and wicked buff (able). I’ve had many friends go into law enforcement over the years. Everything from local PD to state to ATF. All of them had that same desire to help. 

My wife was a cop for almost a decade before recently deciding to make a career change. Living as a police family was an incredibly proud thing. My desire to find ways to support her without screaming I LOVE A COP was a hard push/pull for me. So, I created the Thin Blue Line series.  It’s subtle - a quick nod that feels familiar and a little bit secret all at once. I knew I wanted to give a portion of the sales to something law enforcement related, and when one of my wife’s friends was killed on duty, that was reinforced. 

I've always been a maker. A taker-apart-er. You know, just to see how things worked. I was the kid who took apart the toaster to see its guts, but then never got around to putting it back together. Too many other things to investigate. 

I love a new IKEA purchase and the hours of assembly required. 

I ask a lot of questions. I want to know how you work, what motivates your thinking, your decisions. 

I started out drawing (when I'd exhausted household appliances to get my hands on) and making massive Lego and block structures that I demanded be left in place in the middle of the kitchen floor. Forts constructed of every available pillow reigned in our family room (in fact, we recently purchased a couch, and I made sure it would yield satisfying couch forts for my daughters, now 1 and 3 and a half. Don’t forget the half).

I learned, and became obsessed with, stained glass as a kid in summer camp, a craft that carried through my college years and beyond. I went to RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), majoring in Industrial Design, honing my critical thinking, and my making. Wood shop, metal shop, drawing, 2- and 3- dimensional design principles... my time in school built upon my visceral need to know how things work, how to build them, and of course, how to take them apart. 

We made a baby, (and eventually adopted a second) and for a while, that put a pause on my making of objects. 

I made our daughter a toy box, and my wife a spice rack, but wood was never my medium of choice. 

I dabbled in jewelry making in college and recently became reacquainted with the craft. It satisfies my need to make, to learn the how and why of a design. And, it allows me to use my powers for good. 

I work in lots of metals, but I like stainless steel the best. It’s got presence to it, warms when you wear it, and it’s tough as hell - just like police families. I hope folks like what they see - I’m always happy to talk about custom orders if you’re not seeing exactly what you want. I want you to love the piece and wear the heck out of it. This is not special stuff to tuck away for those few times a year. Wear it, love it, be proud of it, just like you are of your wo/man in blue. 

ENTER TO WIN: Elisa is offering a $30 gift for her store to be used on anything you want in The Thin Blue Line Series. Just enter a comment below and share this post. This giveaway will end on Halloween, October 31st. I will announce the winner then through random.org.

Even if you do not win the giveaway, Elisa is also offering readers a discount code to be used at checkout for 15% of your entire purchase. Use ACOPSWIFE2015 at checkout to receive this special offer.

This coupon code is good until the end of the year.  Happy Shopping everyone! I'm thinking of having a custom bike chain made for HF.... I'l be in touch Elisa...