For years, Natasha Glover knew she wanted whatever work she did to be significant and touch people’s lives. When she was younger, she thought it could be nursing and eventually went on to study Occupational Health and Safety. But that track changed when she heard about DNA keepsakes: taking organic material and turning them into mementos. 

The idea stayed with Glover and in her spare time, she started experimenting with chemicals to get the process right. Last September she opened WarmVibess, a DNA jewelry business and since then, work has been nonstop, with over 60 orders already filled.

“All my life I wanted to deal with … what you would call the circle of life. I wanted to deal with death and life and I guess this is the way I’m dealing with all aspects of life,” Glover said.

Glover can make a variety of different keepsakes, like earrings, rings, keychains, and medallions. It can be something worn or hung in a car’s mirror, “To have their loved ones with them.”

One piece tends to take between two to three weeks to make, but she works on several items at that time. Though there have been a few rush orders that have come together in a few days.

As for DNA material, people have brought a lot of different things to her, though it’s mostly been breastmilk and cremated ashes. A DNA keepsake is “Just something they can treasure forever. The way I look at it is, I can’t imagine getting my great-grandmothers breastfeeding ring,” she said. “How special would that be… years down the line?”

Glover often gets order for pieces to commemorate the birth of a child. And Glover said anyone looking at the breastmilk earrings “Would never be able to tell. Like, it looks like a regular pearl.” Which can make for a far more interesting story than something harvested from a mollusk or a shiny rock mined in a cave.

They can also be used to remember a loved one. “I had one lady recently who just had her grandfather pass away. And he didn’t get cremated, so she had flowers from his memorial. And I made that into jewelry for her and her family.”

“You can put anything into jewelry. Like, if you have a cabin that you grew up in and you wanted soil. You can put that in a charm. And it looks beautiful.” People wouldn’t be able to tell you had a soil necklace, Glover said.

A self-described people person, she said “I like hearing different stories. People’s struggles with breastfeeding or their loved ones. I love hearing about people, I love working with people.”

Plenty of her customers confide their stories in Glover, “I’m such a chatterbox; I guess people feel like they can open up to me… For me, I just love the story, I just like being part of people’s lives. Getting that little bit of information.”