Today, I want to tell you about Lea.
She is a very special Milas woman.
Ohhh, where should I begin? How long can this be??
Well. I think we'll just start from the beginning.
Because it's a beautiful story, the one about Milas, Lea, and me.
A very long time ago, maybe about 10 years ago, I also had a gold shop in Aarhus. And at one point, I needed to find a couple of new apprentices. Both for Copenhagen and Aarhus.
And Lea became one of them. They got to choose whether it should be Copenhagen or Aarhus, and Lea chose the latter. It was close to her family.
But it didn't work out. Sometimes things like that don't go as planned, and the team in Aarhus didn't gel, and Lea slowly faded. I was sad. Very sad, because I had to terminate the apprenticeship contract within the probationary period.
I couldn't bear that Lea wasn't doing well.
Time passed.
Lea became a shop apprentice, still in the industry. Somewhere else. And completed it with bravura.
In the spring of 2014, I needed an apprentice again. The shop in Jutland was no more. At the same time, I was personally challenged, entering a treatment program for breast cancer.
I had thought of Lea so many times, always feeling like I had lost something valuable with her.
So I called her. Asked if she wanted to stop by.
I told her about my thoughts, about us, about an apprenticeship. And asked if she would give me another chance.
I asked her to wait a couple of days to answer, but she smiled, as only Lea can smile, and said she had no doubts.
And so she became my apprentice. A very, very skilled apprentice.
When she had one year left of her apprenticeship, there was a delightful little detour in her apprenticeship, as Lea became pregnant and had a beautiful little girl.
After maternity leave, she happily returned, and one might fear getting a bit rusty after a year-long break.
But no, no.
Because Lea came in second at the Danish championship in goldsmithing.
She got a 12 for her journeyman's test.
Was named the team's best colleague (yes, that's also awarded)
And finally, she went to the Nordic championship and scored the gold medal.
I shed an incredible number of proud, happy tears that year.
Now she is a goldsmith with us. Lea is a divinely gifted craftswoman. She is thorough. Thoughtful.
Technical. Precise. Creative. Her hands read my thoughts and ideas in the most beautiful way.
She is also the sweetest, gentlest, most wonderful person one could ever dream of working with. Often, I think she makes me a better person.
The first thing that fills me when I think of Lea is gratitude. Because I am so incredibly grateful that she dared to say yes to me.
That she chose to show me that trust.
That she dared to give me another chance.
I am also grateful for my intuition. The one that told me we had so much more to give each other.
It was a long story, almost a fairy tale.
Lovingly, Minna.