Leslie Ligon, who discovered that her son was blind when he was two months old, is continuing to develop her successful line of Braille-inspired jewelry. Her goal is to promote Braille literacy, according to an article in the January-June 2008 newsletter of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (see www.loc.gov/nls) .

Ligon, who was a jewelry designer before beginning this project, noticed that Balinese-style beadwork seemed "almost Braille-like." Ethan, her son, was immersed in learning Braille at the time, so it was easy for her to see the similarities between what the two of them were working on.

After several unsuccessful bids to interest wholesale jewelers in her work, she was contacted by mass-production jewelers from China. She traveled to China to work out design details. The first result was a heart pendant, delivered in time for Valentine’s Day in 2000.

To date, the jewelry business, known as At First Sight, has contributed $10,000 to organizations such as Braille Without Borders, National Braille Press, and BrailleInk.

For more information, visit At First Sight’s online shop: www.braillestone.com