Keep Collective

Well, after all your feedback on yesterday’s post, I really felt like the blonde wasn’t the best representation of me. Good thing my stylist had YET ANOTHER last minute cancellation and could get me in to literally take me back to my roots in no time flat.

She did quite the color-matching job to the original, huh? 😉

ANYhoo, enough about my hair. Let’s talk about my bracelet instead, K?

Um, bracelet, Abbie?

Oh, hey, this one.

When Amanda, a designer with Keep Collective, contacted me about choosing a custom piece, I had so much fun toodling around the site and deciding what I wanted my jewelry to “say.”

If you’re not familiar with Keep Collective, they’re a really fun company that lets you customize necklaces, watches, and–my favorite–bracelets to include all kinds of charms, stones, letters, numbers…anything that might be meaningful enough to you to wear on your body.

I’m not a big charm bracelet kind of girl. But I do love me some leather. And I might have mentioned that I love my husband once or twice on this here blog. And I have, in fact, combined those two loves once before–about 11 years ago in Italy on a trip my mom and I took together before Shaun and I were married. I stumbled upon this little booth that let you write whatever you wanted on a leather bracelet with a soldering iron.

And this is what I wrote.

11 years later, it’s truer than ever, so I figured it was time for a more grown-up of version of my leather love declaration.

So, I chose the initials of our nicknames, this pretty green quartz stone, and a little plaque with the words, “birds of a feather”–all displayed on a reversible, double-wrapped genuine leather band.

I didn’t quite know how my choices would turn out.

But when my bracelet came in the mail, and I opened the box, I squealed a little. It was even better in person than it had looked online and turned out exactly like I hoped it would. Shaun even commented on how cool he thought it was. (And when your husband notices your jewelry, you know you have a winner). I’ve worn it on date nights and to church so far, and I love the bit of shimmer it adds without being over-the-top. But mostly, I love what it says. In fact, it just occurred to me that both my old and my new bracelet would pair really well together. Double the schmoopiness! Score!

Edit: I liked this idea so much, that I did double up on my bracelets today on a round of running errands. Can I just say that I highly recommend wearing something that literally declares your love for your husband in words right there on your wrist as a constant reminder?

Honestly, as much fun as I had designing my own, I can also think of pieces that I would get a kick out of making for people I know. Especially with Mother’s Day and graduations looming (how, oh, how are we that far along in the year already?). How fun would be to give Mom or your favorite high school grad something pretty and meaningful with important birthstones or her favorite quote?

If you’re interested in creating a piece of your own, be sure to contact Amanda. She was really fun/easy to work with, and I know she’d love to hear from you.

What about you guys? Do you have a particularly meaningful piece of jewelry that goes way back? I’m not a very sentimental person, but if I have anything to say about it, both of my leather love bracelets are staying with me for the long haul.