‘An actual gem’: Coventry girl helps help cat rescue by promoting souvenir jewellery produced from pet whiskers, fur
For many individuals, shedding a pet appears like shedding a member of the household.
Katie Teixeira is aware of that firsthand, as she was overcome by grief when her cat Milo died in 2021.
It took some time, however Teixeira lastly discovered a technique to work by means of that disappointment and commemorate her cat. She made a hoop adorned with whiskers Milo had shed over the years.
Within a few months, that concept has advanced right into a business with clients from states across the nation, in addition to the United Kingdom and Australia.
Teixeira, of Cumberland, makes jewellery that includes animal whiskers, fur, claws or ashes for individuals who need to honor their pets, dwelling or lifeless.
Some of the proceeds help Pawswatch Community Cat Center in Johnston, a nonprofit organization that gives spaying, neutering and vaccinations for feral, homeless, free-roaming, stranded and deserted cats.
“She’s obtained a distinct segment that had been unfilled, and it actually means quite a bit to individuals,” mentioned Kate Lynn, of Smithfield. “For almost everybody who has a pet, they’re household.”
Lynn bought a pendant from Teixeira that holds fur from two cats, Sammy and Tek, she misplaced a couple of years in the past.
“They have been our children earlier than we had a child,” mentioned Lynn, who lives in Smithfield.
Struggling to let go after they died, Lynn stored some fur from the cats in her jewellery field for 2 or three years. She needed to do one thing with the fur, however she did not know what. Then she noticed Teixeira carrying her ring at Pawswatch, the place each ladies volunteer.
“This got here alongside, and it was excellent,” Lynn mentioned, noting that the pendant is worn near her coronary heart. “I completely find it irresistible. It means a lot to me.”
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When Lynn and different volunteers at Pawswatch confirmed lots of admiration for her ring, Teixeira thought she may be on to one thing. She knew she was when she posted a reel in regards to the jewellery to Instagram that has garnered 3.3 million views and 155,701 likes.
“I take your kitties naturally fallen whiskers and switch them into souvenir jewellery you possibly can cherish furrever,” she wrote on Instagram.
“After that went viral, it was overwhelming, however in an excellent means,” Teixeira mentioned.
Inquiries poured in. Teixeira needed to take day without work from her full-time job at CVS headquarters in Woonsocket to create an internet site, Fallen Whiskers, the place clients might be taught extra and place orders.
The pace at which all of it occurred has shocked Teixeira most of all. It was simply September when she completed the ring with Milo’s whiskers. She has since acquired about 100 orders, together with two from the United Kingdom and one from a lady in Australia who despatched her cat whiskers.
“It’s loopy. I’m nonetheless attempting to course of all of it,” mentioned Teixeira, who has 4 rescue cats and refers to herself as a “cat mother.”
Her hottest gadgets – and those she likes making essentially the most – are pendants and rings, however she additionally makes earrings, bracelets, cuff hyperlinks, tie clips and key chains.
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The jewellery ranges in value from $50 to $300, relying on components resembling measurement and materials.
She is not restricted to cats however also can work with canine whiskers, or perhaps a canine’s child enamel as one pet proprietor requested. Teixeira has additionally fielded inquiries from a horse proprietor asking whether or not she will be able to work with a horse’s mane and a turtle proprietor asking if she might work with a shell that had been shed. She can.
What may shock Teixeira’s clients is that she had no expertise in jewellery making earlier than beginning on her ring for Milo. She taught herself how you can make jewellery with some assist from movies on YouTube and TikTok. She practiced with pressed flowers earlier than embedding Milo’s whiskers in resin.
Donna Lilla, operations supervisor at Pawswatch, describes Teixeira as “artistic” and “compassionate,” somebody who “actually cares.”
Teixeira is amongst 40 to 50 individuals who frequently volunteer on the company. With a few of the proceeds from jewellery gross sales, Teixeira has been capable of donate cat meals, medication, cleaning soap, towels and different provides.
Lilla mentioned, “She’s an actual gem.”
