JUSTIN, Texas — At her home office in Justin, Texas, Samantha Cupp works on dozens of orders from customers across the world.
She makes breastmilk jewelry and her company is called The Milky Rose Boutique. Over the last three years, she's had 2,500 orders, covering every state in the United States, as well as overseas in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
"I like to ask for an ounce of milk, but if they have less, I can work with a little as five milliliters," said Cupp.
The North Texas mom has two children.
"After I had my daughter, I wanted a breastmilk ring and decided to try and make my own and I fell in love with the process," she said.
Cupp practiced and perfected her formula and decided to start The Milky Rose.
"The breastfeeding journey is really hard," Cupp said. "With my son, we almost quit the first month."
She remembers the struggles and pains of breastfeeding as a new mom.
"Turning it into a piece of jewelry is something that you can keep on you and remember," she said.
Customers local to the DFW area can drop off their breastmilk, but the majority of her clients ship it to her home. Cupp uses a powder to preserve the milk and dehydrate it. That process alone takes 48 to 72 hours.
Soon, she's ready to create the stone. Cupp grinds the preserved breastmilk into a fine powder and mixes it with resin. She molds or hand crafts each breastmilk gem.
Once she completes the order, she usually has leftover breastmilk powder. Cupp keeps it organized alphabetically in case the customers want to reorder.
"Each ounce I do has about enough to make 15 pieces," she said.
Cupp said rings are her most popular type of jewelry, but she also makes necklaces, bracelets, earrings and more. She can add shimmer, opal flakes, baby hair, placenta or other custom requests from customers.
"Having a keepsake helps you remember those times," she said.
Cupp's mission is to help families preserve memories from the early months and years that fly by fast.
In addition to breastmilk jewelry, she's had a lot of requests for memorial jewelry made out of ashes. Soon, Cupp will be launching a sister company for that.
More Texas headlines: