Jewellery that stores your breast milk as a souvenir of your nursing journey. Why has this trend suddenly taken off in Singapore? We find out.
Jewellery that stores your breast milk as a souvenir of your nursing journey. Why has this trend suddenly taken off in Singapore? We find out.
You’ve heard of paintbrushes made from the hair of infants, or traditional Chinese stamps featuring a baby’s umbilical cord stump encased in liuli crystal. Now, the next head-scratching baby-related souvenir is made from yet another biological matter – breast milk. They say children grow so quickly, which perhaps explains the popularity of such keepsakes to remind mothers of their little ones before they could climb, bicker or break their curfews.
While mums are currently polarised over the call to breastfeed – with some new mothers feeling intense and sometimes irrational pressure to do so – some who choose to nurse like to preserve the experience. The trend of creating jewellery using breast milk – ranging from simple lockets and charms to even stylish accessories crafted from precious metals – started around seven years ago as international sellers on craft e-commerce site Etsy began offering such products.
Nursing keepsake
In recent years, craft-savvy mums here have been picking up techniques on preserving their own milk and those of fellow mothers. “I gave birth last year and really wanted to get a piece of breast-milk jewellery made, so my husband suggested that we bring this into Singapore,” says Ryo Goh, who used to run a tuition centre and was an A-level economics teacher.
“It was a very rocky start, our sales numbers were very low and the very first batch of orders turned brown due to decay in the first few months. We scrambled to find a chemist to help us refine the breastmilk preservation technique, and devoted many sleepless nights to remaking the affected orders.”
Her business, Keepsake By Ryo, now sells an average of 400 pieces of jewellery a month. Customers mail in 20ml of their breast milk, locks of their babies’ hair or umbilical cord stumps to be used in the designs. Excess breast milk is stored in case of defects, whereby the pieces may be replaced. The milk is then cast using a jeweller’s grade resin that will not fade over time, forming cabochons that can be incorporated into necklaces, rings or earrings.
And she is just one of several local makers providing this very specialised service. “I found out about breast-milk jewellery through Facebook from overseas brands and they were so expensive, but I was intrigued by the idea of preserving something so precious and special,” says Denise Low, a stay-at-home mum of two, who founded the brand Babylove Breastmilk Jewellery Keepsake.
“As a nursing mother of a 20-monthold boy and having breastfed my elder child until the age of three, the times of hardship, restless nights, ups and downs, are all summed up by breast milk and how mums persevere to give their best to their children. “So I decided to make my own (breastmilk jewellery), which is not an easy feat.”
Special or strange?
Denise and other makers of the unique accessories explain that the process is unpredictable because breast milk is an organic material. Often, several attempts are required to create a perfect piece. On average, it takes at least two weeks to a month to complete a single item, as it takes days to preserve the milk and cast it in resin, before customising it into a jewellery design.
However, the idea of wearing solidifled bodily excretion might be a tad off-putting to some, even nursing mothers. “I personally think the practice sounds rather strange,” says Charlene Cai, a mother of one who is expecting her second child. “I don’t see the need for something like that and find it a waste of money.”
However, many producers of such mementoes reveal that customers are excited when they chance upon the jewellery pieces, since the act of breastfeeding is a meaningful part of their own motherhood experience. “There’s nothing to be grossed out about, the breast milk has already been preserved and you wouldn’t even know it’s breast milk unless we told you,” says Melody Zhuang, who makes breast-milk jewellery under her brand, Tokens of Eternity.
“Mums who are still breastfeeding are usually thankful that they have something to keep as a memory of their tough breastfeeding moments.” One of Melody’s customers not only adored the earrings that she ordered, but she was also surprised when her mother and husband requested similar keepsakes.
“I joined breastfeeding groups and saw that some mummies had theirs made, (so I) started doing research on it,” says Calista Faye, a mum of two, who owns two pairs of earrings, a heart-shaped locket and a keychain with little footprints filled with preserved breast milk. “I was a struggling breastfeeder with supply issues and I wanted something to remember the struggle by. My mother was shocked, but she also requested a pair of earrings made using my milk.”
Such creators of breast-milk jewellery also try to be innovative in their designs, with some – like Melody – making charms that can be looped onto bracelets or necklaces. Others, such as Ryo, take it a step further by creating fine jewellery using gold and diamonds. “One of my first few customers inspired us,” says Ryo.
“She teared up uncontrollably when we told her that silver breast-milk jewellery could not last for many generations. We spoke to her further before finding out that she was suffering from cancer with only months to live and that she had to forsake treatment just so that her child could survive. “Till this day, I regret telling her that silver could not last. It was because of her that we started experimenting with gold and diamonds to create a keepsake that could stand the test of time.”
My mother also requested a pair of earrings made using my milk. Mum-of-two, Calista Faye, who owns two pairs of earrings, a heart-shaped locket and a keychain with little footprints filled with preserved breast milk.
