Coping with Pet Loss – My Bunny Mad Magazine Feature

I was contacted late last year by Lisa of ‘Bunny Creations’ who produces a quarterly magazine called Bunny Mad Magazine. The magazine that she produces is lovely and contains lots of information for anybody who loves rabbits and pets. For the Spring/Summer edition of the magazine, Lisa was including a special feature about coping with the loss of a pet and wanted me to write a little about myself and in particular about my pet keepsake jewellery.

The latest edition of Bunny Mad Magazine was produced last week and Lisa was very kind in sending me a copy which included my feature, and here it is:

Bunny Mad Magazine

For anybody who is unable to see a copy of the magazine (although I would recommend it because it is really lovely), I have included my feature below...

Capturing Your Memories - My Magazine Feature

“I have been creating and making jewellery for many years now after a long career as an engineer. I had always had a secret artistic side that escaped once in a while, but the urge to be creative got the better of me and after seizing an opportunity to take some time out to be a full time dad to my son, I decided I wanted to do something more with this creative side of me. So I decided to start making my own jewellery.

I was particularly interested in resin jewellery. The science, diversity and sheer beauty fascinated me along with the ability to encase almost anything within it. So that is what I did, taking every day objects and encasing them in resin in wonderful shapes, sizes and colours.

It’s amazing what you can encase in resin. Flowers, confetti, stones, fabric, I’ve even done toe nails – yes, really!

I would have said nothing could surprise me, but when one day I received an e-mail from someone asking me if I cold encase some animal fur from a lost pet, I was slightly taken aback. I’d never been asked to deal with something potentially very sensitive and special. But when that one request turned into lots of requests, I knew I had to provide a service.

Pet Keepsake Jewellery

So, I started helping customers who had lost pets and wanted to have a keepsake or piece of jewellery so that they had their pets with them always. Or provide a happy reminder that they could look at when they wanted to. And it wasn’t just dearly departed pets either, I had a lot of customers who thought a piece of their pet’s fur, hair and even feathers would also be stunning, from pets who were still very much alive and happy.

Fur and hair from precious pets are only part of what I’ve done. I’ve also dealt with pet’s ashes too. It may sound cheesy to some, but it is actually very humbling to provide a special keepsake or item of jewellery knowing someone will find peace and comfort in it, or sheer joy at how stunning their pet’s fur or hair looks captured in resin.

Pet Hair Keepsake

I’ve had all sorts of special pet memorabilia pass through my doors, from hamsters, budgies, to cats, dogs and even horses. And, not forgetting of course, very special bunnies. Some of the rabbit fur I’ve encased is absolutely stunning. It’s amazing to work with and brings sheer delight to my customers when they see the end result.

I currently preserve the hair, fur and ashes within many types of jewellery including pendants, bracelets, rings, brooches, cufflinks, earrings and bangles and also offer an engraving service for the sterling silver items of jewellery. For those people not necessarily looking for an item of jewellery, I also make paperweights. I have a whole gallery of stunning pictures showing my work, and I pride myself on providing a special personalised service. At the end of the day, each one of my customers is unique, and so are their pets.”

If you would like to see some recent examples of my pet keepsake jewellery, please visit my website gallery.

Mick