With a shared passion for motherhood and family, friends Kirstin and Allie jumped at the chance to be involved in DNA Keepsake Jewellery. Taking over the business from a close friend of Kirstin’s, they have worked extremely hard behind the scenes to rebrand and relaunch. They both appreciate the importance of sentimentality and how special it is to create everlasting memories of significant times or milestones to hold on to forever. At DNA Keepsake Jewellery, they create beautiful, carefully handcrafted pieces containing precious inclusions such as breastmilk, umbilical cord, placenta, hair and cremation ashes, treating all items with respect and care as they create your unique piece: a precious memory to treasure forever. Here, they share their journey so far with The Natural Parent Magazine.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
I’m Kirstin, a mum to two awesome boys and a midwife / LMC for the past 16 years here in Hamilton, Waikato.
Being so passionate about all things motherhood, when this opportunity came up, I knew this was the perfect journey for me to take, expanding my passions further and helping women and families to have an everlasting memory or a milestone to hold on to forever
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I’m Allie, I am hairdresser by trade, a mum of two boys, and a wife to a wonderful husband here in Cambridge, Waikato.
Soon after the birth of my second baby, a devastating event rocked our family. After that, I took some time off to be a mum, hold family close, reassess where life would go from here, and rediscover what I’m truly passionate about.
When this opportunity came up, I knew this was the right path to take. I want to be able to give families something they can treasure from their loved one lost or a memory or milestone from a loved one living.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
A close friend of Kirstin’s was doing DNA keepsake Jewellery alongside her placenta encapsulation business, birth photography and, more recently, had just become a real estate agent, and so the opportunity came up for Kirstin to take on the keepsake jewellery. Kirstin is a very busy midwife in Waikato and so Allie jumped on board too.
We worked so hard behind the scenes, learning so much along the way. We rebranded and started DNA Keepsake Jewellery from the ground up, working many late nights on the website, getting all our ducks in a row and getting ready to launch. We officially launched in April 2021.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
The biggest breakthrough for us was starting! We had never set up a website before, or anything of the sort. Learning something new every day in every aspect of the business was very exciting and it was very special being able to work with such special inclusions and make such meaningful pieces.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
That’s something that’s very challenging at the best of times!
Kirstin is a very busy midwife here in the Waikato. That is a 24/7 job which can be very demanding, plus having two young boys and fitting DNA keepsakes in there too.
Allie is a stay-at-home mum and occasionally works for a local funeral home doing hair and make-up on the deceased, plus her two boys keep her very busy.
We usually aim to craft orders together once a week while the toddler is sleeping and Allie finishes off orders and packages them. So far, that’s working for us!
