‘Rainbow’ idea transforms ID badges

Like rays of sunshine through a prism, nine-year-old Gabrielle Morse’s giving spirit colors her world by making bright, rainbow-colored ID badge bead necklaces.

Sitting on the living room floor of her parents’ Chaska home, Gaby is surrounded by muffin tins filled with clasps, thin elastic, and beads. The beads are dazzling, pink, purple, green and blue, some opaque, some pearlized—even translucent. Wearing a flowered, floppy hat, Gaby leans over the tins, waiting for creativity to take over. She picks up turquoise, white and black beads, strings a few on elastic, leans back, pleased, then tells her 4-year old sister Morgan to keep their Shih Tzu puppy, Daisy, away from the beads.

Gaby’s rainbow idea started small. A fourth grader in Mr. Dainsberg’s class at Clover Ridge Elementary, Gaby says, When I got sick last year and was gone from school for a month, my friend Allison made everyone in my third grade class a beaded bracelet so everyone would think about me.” Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia the day after Mother’s Day 2001, Gaby was admitted to Minneapolis Children’s Hospital.

Upon her release, she needed chemotherapy where, like last week’s visit of four hours, the waits are long. While awaiting treatment, Gaby came up with her idea. “I was bored and started playing with some beads—they have all these crafts you can do there. I thought ‘I can make ID badge necklaces and give them to people!’”

Joni Morse, her mother, was the first recipient of Gaby’s gift. A nurse in Eden Prairie, she soon had co-workers asking, “Where did you get that necklace? I want one of those.” Though leukemia rained on Gaby’s world, giving away necklaces has led to an unexpected pot of gold with a booming business. “I started making them for free but they’ve gotten so popular I had to start charging to cover costs,” Gaby says. At $4, they are well worth the investment.

Gaby’s Rainbow Necklaces, with their unique Y-shaped design, have become known locally in the medical profession. Gaby grins, “Mom and I got another three orders today!” Required by profession to wear an ID badge, doctors, nurses, even lab techs see it as a balance between practical and pretty. A badge slips onto the necklace, making it a perfect remedy to the cumbersome standard clip. Gaby is happy to customize and always includes a heart bead at the Y junction. “You’ve got to have a heart!”

When Gaby made a recent necklace delivery the nurse said, “I love how it feels.” For Gaby’s mom the bonus is, “being at the office and seeing Gaby’s necklaces. It’s like she’s with me at work.” Gaby hopes to expand her business to other professionals who require work IDs. “These would work well for teachers, too,” Gaby says.

While Gaby’s rainbow business continues to grow, so does her sensitivity to other kids living with leukemia. On a recent visit to the hospital, a girl with leukemia awaiting a bone marrow transplant was in the waiting area with Gaby. “I told her it’s not as bad as it seems, that I’m okay and she would be okay too,” says Gaby.

“My daughter doesn’t ask, ‘Why me?’ She has gone on with her life,” Joni says. Gaby’s father adds, “Gaby doesn’t think this is as big a deal as everyone else does.”

When Gaby started to lose her hair for the second time, she made a game of it. “My family sat around the kitchen table and had a contest to see who could pull out the biggest clump.” In remission since Day 21, Gaby is in her ninth month of treatment. Seventeen months to go. Her doctor gives a good prognosis. “She’s so positive. She gives us energy,” says Gaby’s mom.

What does Gaby intend to do with the money from sales of her necklaces? “Buy puppy food for Daisy and an electronic game,” Gaby says. Her mother adds that if sales continue to do well, the family will donate a portion to a children’s cancer fund.

Gabrielle Morse is proof that a small prism of an idea can expand into a large rainbow of blessing and benefit.

Julie Saffrin is a freelance writer from Excelsior and an occasional contributor to the Chaska Herald.

Home