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February 4, 2025Drawing from the lives of saints, Maria Darr designs jewelry – primarily earrings – with a level of thoughtfulness and symbolism that points to the profound holiness of those men and women of God.
Darr is crafting jewelry with a purpose.
“It was very Holy Spirit-inspired,” said Darr, who said she’s always been interested in making her own earrings.
Darr said the idea of making saint-inspired earrings came to her late one night. She wanted to wear jewelry with a purpose. She said the Lord placed the calling to create meaningful Catholic jewelry.
After reading a saint’s story, she finds parallels in the life of that saint and correlates it with the beads she selects for her designs. Each color and shape of the bead holds a special meaning to Darr as she sees it relevant to the life of that saint.
Darr’s simple, symbolic designs help people celebrate feast days and liturgical seasons while staying close to their favorite saints.
“I read through a saint’s story, and I will pull things that are significant and stand out,” said Darr. “Like, if there was water in the story, I may take a blue bead. Or, if they were of a certain order and either wore brown, black or white, or they chose to live a pure consecrated life, I might pick white to symbolize purity. I might pick black because they died to themselves. Red, because they were martyred.”
Darr’s jewelry is available at St. Thomas More Books & Gifts, at the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine gift shop, via her Instagram “Dainty_N_Saintly,” or by e-mail at [email protected].
Through her designs, Darr tries to point toward the holiness of the saints, depicting through her beadwork those things that connect them to specific shapes and colors.
“I wanted to do something simple,” said Darr, who emphasized the importance of using art to bring people closer to the saints.
Servant of God Kiara Corbella is one of Darr’s favorite saints. She’s inspired that she gave up her own life so her children could survive. A mom herself, she reflects on Corbella’s life as a reminder of how far mothers are willing to go for their children.
Darr’s patrons may choose earrings for themselves, but many choose her work as unique gifts, especially around confirmation time, when individuals select a saint for their confirmation name.
“Maria has combined her love for the communion of saints with her talent for designing well-made, unique jewelry to create beautiful items that inspire and help call to mind the lives of those blessed who have gone before us,” said Geri Hough.
Leigha Liuzza, owner of Zelie Creative Co., a local Catholic business, has supported and mentored Darr.
“I love the simplicity but the thoughtfulness of each of her designs,” Liuzza said. “The earrings are so symbolic without being over the top. That’s the kind of jewelry I like to wear and the kind of outward representation of my faith I like to put out into the world.”
Eliana Tedrow is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.
Blessed Chiara Badano earrings
Saint Maria Goretti earrings
