Blood Milk Jewels was born in the transformative summer of 2008, emerging from a period marked by personal upheaval and profound questioning. The brand's creator had just marked the first anniversary of earning an MFA in writing during a time when the economic crisis had dried up job opportunities. This period also coincided with the sudden and impactful death of her estranged father, events that deeply influenced her creative output. In grappling with these life changes and her intrigue with the afterlife—a question left unanswered by her religious education—she began crafting what she describes as "mourning jewelry" or "psychic armor." These pieces were personal totems, reflecting her journey through grief and curiosity about death. Despite initial limitations in her knowledge of jewel-making, she self-taught various techniques and refined others through more formal education, transforming her emotional and intellectual struggles into tangible art. The jewelry of Blood Milk is richly layered with personal narratives, historical influences like the Victorian Spiritualist movement, and mythological elements, all swirling around themes of dark romanticism linked to the mysteries of death. The creator's lifelong battle with melancholy and sensitivity finds a kind of therapy in the creation and appreciation of beauty, which she strives to encapsulate in her jewelry.
