Mums make jewellery out of breastmilk and sell pieces to customers for hundreds
A pair of entrepreneurs are selling jewellery made from breastmilk.
Surprisingly, the bodily fluid can be crystallised to look similar to precious gemstones.
Mum-of-two Lauren Devine and mum-of-one Victoria Bradley, both aged 37, sell the quirky jewellery via their company Boob Bling.
After the milk has been put through a “mad scientist” style kitchen laboratory, they get to work making rings, necklaces and earrings.
Many of their customers get the jewellery as sentimental gifts – and it’s especially popular with men buying for their wives or girlfriends.
The elegant accessories, which are designed to be the opposite of “mumsy”, retail for around £180 for sterling silver, and £280 for gold, and each piece takes around two weeks to make.
Lauren said: "The customer places an order on the website, then we send them a milk kit.
"They then send us roughly five millilitres of their breastmilk, and we process it using our special formula.
"It turns into a paste, then we set it aside for two weeks until it crystallises.
"Once that's done we grind it down to a powder, then we make the stone and customise it to the customer's request.
"Our standard stuff is breastmilk jewellery, although we have been asked to turn placenta powder into jewellery and we've had people ask us to convert ashes into jewellery."
Lauren continued: "We get a lot of guys placing orders for their wives.
"I think when men see how difficult breastfeeding is, they are in awe of how amazing their wives are, so want to get them this as a gift.
"There is nothing on the market that is fun and trendy about breastfeeding.
"We keep it fun and lighthearted as we want people to think of breastfeeding as a natural and normal thing."
So how did the women get into the quirky industry?
Lauren quit her corporate job at Lloyds Bank in January 2020, and met Victoria, who works as a business advisor at Edinburgh Napier University.
The pair, from Dalkeith, Midlothian, struck up a conversation via social media when lockdown happened.
While Lauren struggled mentally and wanted to spend more time at home with her kids – Coral, five, and Summer, three – Victoria had aspirations of starting a breastmilk company.
So as the women were both breastfeeding their kids and had a shared passion for jewellery, they decided to go into business together.
Lauren said: "I didn't really know what I wanted to do exactly, but I knew it was something to do with jewellery."
She continued: "I never ever studied it, so I did some crash courses in jewellery making during this time.
"I'm the type of girl who when she walks by the jewellery shop, I always have to stop."
Victoria already had an idea in her head when the friends met.
Lauren said: "We both hit it off, and talked about our love for jewellery, as well as both being breastfeeding mums, and she told me about the brand concept of creating jewellery with breast milk.
"So we started Boob Bling together.”
Lauren continued: "Victoria had been on maternity leave, so had spent all her time working on a super secret guarded formula that preserves breast milk.
"Her kitchen was like a mad scientist's lab.
"Once we got it right though, we opened up. We called it Boob Bling as it represents the brand.
"We don't do anything too flowery or mumsy, it's in your face.
"We want to appeal to a community of badass mums – its motherhood unfiltered."
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Husband Vinnie, 41, was initially nervous about Lauren ending her corporate career.
But as the venture makes her happy, and the career is a lucrative one, he’s very proud of his partner.
The businesswoman added: “Before I started Boob Bling I was at a low point, and not in a good place mentally. The difference in me is great.
"We've doubled sales per quarter and it's increasing every month.
"I'm happy every day and bouncing off the walls, and that's all down to Boob Bling."
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