The Story Behind the Ivy — And What It Takes to Make a Tribute Medal

I did not set out to make a tribute medal.

I set out to hold onto my dog, Pozzo.

After he was gone, there was a silence that did not feel empty, but suspended. I found myself returning not to the big moments, but to the quiet, specific ones. The things that made him who he is.

He was always drawn to ivy.

On walks, he would suddenly pull toward it, nose buried deep in the leaves, completely absorbed. He never hesitated. He always found it. I never understood why—but I knew it mattered to him.

When I began imagining his tribute medal, I first thought of grand symbols. Angel wings. A luminous blue stone, curved like a lens, magnifying his name beneath it. But something felt distant. Too abstract.

Because love does not live in abstraction. It lives in details.  That is when I understood the medal did not need wings. It needed ivy.

For centuries, ivy has symbolized fidelity, attachment, and endurance. Because it is evergreen, it does not fade with the seasons. It remains.

I began to carve.

Carving is slow. As the ivy emerged in the wax, something shifted. It was no longer just a piece of wax. It was a place where he still existed.

I carved his name beneath it: Pozzo. Not as an inscription, but as a presence.

When I cast and finished it in silver, I held it in my palm for a long time. It was smaller than the space he left. But it was enough.

Enough to touch.

Enough to carry.

Enough to remind me that love changes form, but it does not disappear.

That medal became the beginning of everything that followed. The ivy became my logo.

Because most of us carry someone or something we never want to lose. A person. A companion. A moment that shaped us. And yet, so often, there is no object that truly reflects that connection.

This is what makes tribute pieces so meaningful. They give memory a surface. They make something invisible, visible again.

Every bespoke piece I create begins the same way Pozzo’s medal did: with listening. Together, we find the symbol, the detail, the form that feels true to your story.

The ivy in my logo is mine.

I would be honored to help you tell yours.

If you would like to discuss a bespoke tribute piece, you are welcome to contact me privately.  Email me at sandrine@sandrinebjewelry.com