Jewelry For Bridesmaids

When their 16-year-old sister died of a severe asthma attack a year ago, Sandra Cosicher and Brandee Goldstein were devastated. Though twice her age, they had always been close to her, sharing clothes, makeup, secrets and sleepovers.

``I was angry,'' recalls Cosicher of North Miami Beach. ``I wanted to kick everyone in sight. It was like part of me had been ripped away.''

Says Goldstein: ``I just tortured myself thinking maybe I could've done more.''

But sometimes beauty is born of deep pain. Weeks after Katherine ``Kat'' Cosicher died, Sandra Cosicher, 31, a commercial property manager, enrolled in a jewelry-making class. It was a hobby she had long enjoyed, but after the tragedy it became therapy -- and a way of helping others who suffer from asthma.

Cosicher began wearing her own creations. So did Goldstein, 34, of Aventura. In fact, the two sisters still wear charms around their necks with Kat's name as a way of keeping her close to their hearts. Their half-sister from their father's second marriage, Kat was almost like a daughter as well as a sister to them.

Friends noticed the jewelry and clamored for personalized pendants. At first, Cosicher's creations were simple: a circle or square with a letter or design cut into the sterling silver. As her technique improved, the pieces became more complex.

Sometimes she only charged enough to cover costs. She had no entrepreneurial aspirations. ``I needed something positive in my life at the time,'' she says.

Then the nascent business got a huge, unexpected boost. An old friend who works for NBC suggested the jewelry for the Today show's guide to holiday gifts under $100. Cosicher and Goldstein scrambled to incorporate and launch a website, Jewelryby3Sisters.com .

Within days of the TV mention, they had received hundreds of orders from all over the country. Goldstein, a mental health therapist, and their mother, Sari Papir, handled the business side while Cosicher worked late into the night and on weekends.

``We filled every single order,'' she says. ``We made sure everybody got it in time for Christmas.''

Actually, they did more than that.

``We realized this was a real business and we had something here,'' Goldstein says.

Eight months later, Goldstein is seven months pregnant and Cosicher, still in property management, has been slowly growing the business. Neither takes a salary. They have donated a portion of their sales -- about $1,000 so far -- to Asthma Awareness and other charities, and have planted 16 trees in Kat's name in Israel. The rest has been reinvested.

With no marketing budget, Jewelryby3Sisters has grown by word of mouth -- and love at first sight. Brooke Mitzner of New York City spotted a monogrammed necklace on a friend. ``I just loved it. It looked different.''

She bought two pieces, including a personalized pendant she wears all the time. Mitzner showed Cosicher's jewelry to her sister, who ordered initial charms for each of the bridesmaids in her recent wedding.

Mitzner read Kat's story on the website.

``They're pieces that everyone compliments, and I think that's the whole point of wearing them,'' she says. ``But then when you read how she started making the jewelry and why, it makes the jewelry that much more special. Everybody has lost someone they love and they can relate to that.''

The Jewelryby3Sisters.com line includes bracelets, necklaces, rings and cuff links. An engraved, sterling silver key chain goes for $54, a gold lace heart with a single initial for $200. The bestsellers are the personalized pieces.

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