Newsletters
A 26-year-old mother in Türkiye's Eskisehir province has turned a bracelet made from her baby's first strand of hair into a home-based business, creating personalized keepsakes for customers across the country while helping support her family.
Esma Nur Uyan began making jewelry as a hobby after leaving her job following the birth of her son, now six months old. What started as a way to preserve a personal memory soon grew into a small business, with customers sending her strands of hair and other sentimental items to be incorporated into handmade bracelets.
Working from home, Uyan now sells her creations through social media, using the income to cover her baby's needs and contribute to household expenses.
Uyan said the idea first came to her when she wanted to make a bracelet containing a strand of her own baby's hair, both to pass the time at home and to create a meaningful keepsake.
After completing her first piece, she realized the concept could appeal to others looking to hold on to memories of their loved ones.
Her designs now incorporate items ranging from children's first strands of hair to locks of hair, beard hairs and small amounts of soil from the graves of deceased relatives.
Each item is preserved inside an epoxy resin bead, a transparent material that hardens around the keepsake, allowing customers to carry a personal memory with them.
Uyan explained that customers sometimes entrust her with the last physical reminder they have of someone they have lost, making the work emotionally meaningful beyond its financial value.
She said turning these personal belongings into lasting keepsakes was particularly rewarding, adding that the positive reactions from customers had encouraged her to continue.
Although the finished bracelets appear simple, Uyan said producing them requires considerable patience and attention to detail.
Customers send their chosen keepsakes to her by mail, and she carefully places each strand of hair or other item inside individual beads before filling them with epoxy resin.
The material then needs approximately 24 hours to cure and harden, after which she sands and polishes each bead to remove scratches and achieve a smooth finish.
Once the bracelet is completed, she packages it and sends it back to the customer.
Uyan described the process as demanding, noting that each stage must be carried out individually to produce the finished piece.
Despite the time-consuming work, she said orders have come in from numerous cities across Türkiye, although she has not kept an exact count of the bracelets sold.
Encouraged by the growing interest, Uyan also urged other mothers and homemakers to explore opportunities to develop their own skills and earn an income from home.
She emphasized that caring for children and managing household responsibilities did not necessarily prevent women from pursuing creative work or contributing financially to their families.
For Uyan, the business has become a way to combine motherhood with an income-generating activity while helping customers preserve memories of the people closest to them.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
