“Just because the band breaks up, doesn’t mean you’re going to stop playing the music!” The guitar string jewelry will continue to “give back” to the cancer community, focusing on breast cancer charities.
Update: I felt it necessary to update theFACTS because there is so much misinformation out there. It will be a question/answer type of update as of 4/09/2026.
Q: When did you start your jewelry business?
Elisa: I started my jewelry business 2 months after I graduated from Mercyhurst College, so in August 1976 I started “Original Jewelry by Elisa” that later became La Petite Jeweler’s in 1979 when I opened my brick and mortar. Until then I traveled around the country and did juried art shows while maintaining my studio in Erie, PA.
Q: What was your main type of jewelry that you designed?
Elisa: In the seventies I designed wedding rings, engagement rings, earrings, and pendants. I took all kinds of custom orders, designing first in wax, casting them in gold or silver, finishing the piece, setting the stones, mostly diamonds and gemstones. I was a one woman show and built quite a clientele here in Erie, PA. Customers traveled from Cleveland, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh to my store to have a custom piece made. I got to know so many wonderful people as they met one-on-one with me as they commissioned me to do a custom order.
Q: How did the guitar string jewelry come about?
Elisa: In 2007 I was commissioned to make a guitar string bracelet. I already had two bouts with breast cancer, the first diagnosis was in 1995, the second diagnosis was in 2005. In 2008 while at a Bon Jovi concert with my husband Ed, I came up with the idea of having famous musicians donate their used guitar strings and I would make jewelry out of the strings, which is when the line of guitar string jewelry came about. That later turned into the line of Stringsforacure guitar string jewelry.
Q: How did the Stringsforacure Foundation get started?
Elisa: After 2 years (2008 – 2010) of fundraising for the Stringforacure project and encouragement from my mother Mary, I decided to embark on starting the Stringsforacure Foundation and turning it into a 501(c) 3 nonprofit charitable organization. It was a lengthy process for which I was not prepared.
Q: How long was the Stringsforacure Foundation around?
Elisa: We ran the Stringsforacure Foundation from September 2010 through September 2020.
Q: Why did you and the board decide to close the Stringsforacure Foundation?
Elisa: In 2018, I went to the board and told them that year 10, which would be in 2020, long before we knew about covid, would be the last year for the foundation. My plate was full being the Executive Director of the foundation, making all of the guitar string jewelry, tending to La Petite, and also taking care of my mom, who lived with us, the last 10 years of her life. I knew my mental health was going to give if I did not make changes. It was a sad time, but we needed to plan the end of the foundation.
Q: Why did you continue to make the guitar string jewelry?
Elisa: My answer to that question, why not? I have been a jeweler for over 50 years, and I knew as long as I donated a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the guitar string jewelry to an existing charity, I could continue to make the jewelry. And that is what I chose to do 6 years ago and continue to do to this day.
A continuation of theFACTS:
From August 2010 to September 2020, the StringsforaCURE Foundation helped over 2,068 breast cancer patients, distributing over $466,314 to these patients through our programs. At the end of September 2020, after celebrating 10 years of serving the breast cancer community, Elisa Guida, along with StringsforaCURE board members, Patti Larson, Brenda Berchtold and Donna Rose Sherrange, started the process to dissolve our 501(c)(3) charitable organization. We did NOT close the StringsforaCURE Foundation due to a lack of funds. We were not a Covid Casualty; this decision was made in 2018, long before the Covid-19 pandemic.
By the time we dissolved the 501(c)(3), we provided close to half a million dollars to breast cancer patients and their families, through our many financial assistance programs both locally and nationally. This was a time to celebrate what this small breast cancer charity accomplished during those 10 years!
We would like to thank everyone who has supported our mission over the years. Without you, we would not have been able to help so many breast cancer patients. Everyone who has been involved with the StringsforaCURE Foundation should be very proud of what we have been able to accomplish over the years. This is a time to celebrate! Like everything in life, we have to do what is best, because it is time to do so.
What very few had known was that our founder, Elisa Guida, a two-time breast cancer survivor, had also been the full-time caregiver of her sweet mom, Mary, for 10 years. While there were no regrets, we are saddened to report that Elisa’s dear mom Mary passed on April 19, 2021, at the age of 97, with Elisa and Ed by her side.
For those wondering what the future holds for the Stringsforacure jewelry by elisa, Elisa Guida, a jewelry designer for over 50 years, will continue to design one-of-a-kind earrings, necklaces and bracelets from guitar strings donated by famous musicians and a portion of the proceeds from each sale will be donated to an existing cancer charity, focusing on breast cancer charities. To date, Elisa made donations in various amounts totaling $6460 to: Breastcancer.org (2020 & 2024), Libby’s Legacy Breast Cancer Foundation (2020 & 2023), Living Beyond Breast Cancer, the Pink Fund, For 3 Sisters, the PA Breast Cancer Coalition, Casting for Recovery, Mary’s Place by the Sea, Tutu Project of the Carey Foundation, Move Over Breast Cancer and WeGotThis.org. InfiniteStrength.org will be the charity to receive a portion of the proceeds from the 2026 guitar string jewelry orders. Thank you for your continued support of the Stringsforacure jewelry by elisa.