A YORK woman has set up a business selling memorial jewellery in honour of her late mother.
Clare Jagger, 38, works as an SEN teaching assistant during the day but spends her evenings running a small business, Everlasting Memory Keepsakes, where she makes memorial jewellery for those who wish to honour loved ones.
Everlasting Memory Keepsakes was set up by Clare in 2021 following the loss of her mother, Julie, who passed after a long battle with cancer.
After Julie’s death, Clare had two necklaces produced to always keep some of her mother's ashes with her, but found the actual jewellery was expensive and wasn’t to her style, so she decided that she wanted to have a go at making something herself.
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Clare said: “When I was looking around for jewellery, I couldn’t believe how expensive some of the options were and so that’s why I decided to have a go myself.
“I try to make it so everyone can afford that because when you’re grieving, you’re grieving - it doesn’t matter if you’re a millionaire or don’t have two pennies rub together.
“If I can make it so everyone can afford something, it keeps my mother’s memory alive.”
Everlasting Memory Keepsakes offers a variety of different designs and custom colours, depending on an individual’s choice and preferences.
A small amount of a loved one's ashes is encased in resin to form part of the jewellery.
Clare tends to create more subtle designs, letting a person know that the ashes are there without them being too overt.
In addition, she tries to keep her turn around times as low as possible – in most instances, the jewellery is supplied in a fortnight.
Clare said: “When people give you their ashes, it’s so precious and so they don’t want to be away from them for a long time, so I try to do it as soon as possible for people.
"I don’t want to drag on a traumatic time and knowing they get their ashes back quickly is a nice feeling.”
Clare also likes to hand deliver items wherever possible and doesn’t offer a ‘buy it now’ option on her website to ensure the experience is as personalised as it can be.
According to Clare, sometimes people are ‘grieving and not always thinking’. She feels it’s important to offer full consultation to ensure people don’t rush into their choice and ‘buy something for the sake of it’ - instead, they should take their time and get something they really love.
As she says: “It isn’t just a business, it’s special.”
From her sales, Clare donates money to a fundraiser in her mother’s name – this money goes to the Leeds Hospital Charity, which cared for Julie during her treatment and she has managed to raise £1,000 so far.
More information can be found through the Everlasting Memory Keepsakes’ website. The Memorial Page for Julie Jagger is linked here.
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