Mommy Metal – Jewellery for New Mothers
Professional jewellers work everyday to impact people’s lives in one precise moment-of-presentation and forevermore.
As a practicing goldsmith and custom jewellery designer, I’ve been in the jewellery business in Toronto for over ten years now, I’m continually motivated to improve my craft by the curious notion that my work will impact another professional person’s most significant life-moments. I have spent countless hours brainstorming ways to capture these moments with my custom jewellery designs.
Sabrina Melendez a Master Goldsmith and new mother dabbles in making mommy metal jewellery.
A Jeweler’s Dilemma is Too Much Choice
So how does a jeweler come to decide what to make for herself when these momentous occasions arise?
Ten months ago, I became a new mother and ever since that life shaping occasion I’ve been stewing on what to make to celebrate what is clearly the biggest ‘before and after’ divider of my time on this planet.
There has been so much joy over the past 10 months, and so much doubt…I wonder, is my child sleeping enough? Should I have breastfed longer? Is she enjoying daycare? What should her first piece of jewellery be?
Contemplating Custom Jewellery for New Moms
Amber bracelets with eye-catching amber beads are frequently associated with new mothers, and I relish the gifts I received from friends, but I worry my daughter will choke on them.
Breast milk jewellery was something I started energetically researching, but to my dismay I encountered the controversy which clouds the nice idea. It turns out such connivance can create a bio hazard that you wear on your body! I don’t think I’ll be taking that risk.
Fingerprint jewellery is a lovely option- that’s where you take an imprint of your babies finger with soft wax and cast it in metal- but then I learned it’s best to wait until your children are older and have better formed fingerprints.
Mommy metal is a popular design inspiration category on Pinterest with thousands of examples, and i would spend many hours perusing these pictures until one day all that changed and I got a great opportunity to put my ideas into action.
Baby teething rings for new mothers
Mommy metal jewellery must be safe for infants
Opportunity Knocks at On the Other Hand Jewellery
Finally we had a client come in to the shop looking to have a handmade sterling silver teething ring she had purchased for her own baby recreated as the perfect baby shower gift for a close friend. Bingo! What’s even better is this beautiful creation can also be worn on a cord or chain as a bold piece of “Mommy Metal”.
After a little more research, I found that sterling silver has antimicrobial and cooling properties that assist your baby’s healing & comfort, all while looking stylish AND acting as a baby rattle. This just keeps getting better. I learned that silver’s antimicrobial resistance to bacteria and its low toxicity to humans has led to its use in surgical masks, endotracheal tubes and wound dressings.
Down the side of this article you can see the teething rings we created for our client… There are lots of customization possibilities, drop us a line for a quote.
A few of the sources I used in my research…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breast_milk_jewelry
https://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Silver_as_an_Antimicrobial_Agent
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