Gold Hearted Club x Narratorium - A Heart of Gold

Aim

A creative collaboration to design a collection of jewellery that raises awareness of heart disease in women and funds important research.

Did you know? 

‘Women are twice as likely to die from coronary heart disease, the main cause of a heart attack, than of breast cancer in the UK.’ – British Heart Foundation.

Which is why in honour of this year’s ‘Heart Month’, Kerrie (founder of the Gold Hearted Club) and Emma (jeweller behind the Narratorium) are launching a heart-led creative collaboration which not only raises awareness of this statistic, but also encourages women to be risk aware and take better care of their hearts.

The project will also donate just over £5000 to the British Heart Foundation, which will not only help the charity fund vital research, but continue its fight against heart disease.

How it all began 

The idea behind the collaboration between Kerrie and Emma came about when they met at a maker’s market in April 2022. 

Kerrie fell in love with one of Emma’s Lovelock bracelets which features a small, gold hearted padlock. The pair got talking about Kerrie’s love for gold hearts, which stems from her experience of living with congenital heart disease, and is the very reason behind her inspiring venture, the Gold Hearted Club.

Emma was really moved by Kerrie’s incredible story, and as creative souls with a shared passion for design and storytelling, the duo formed an instant connection and the seed for a collaboration was planted.

The idea

The idea and goal behind the collaboration was to design a collection of jewellery that would spark a conversation and raise awareness of heart disease in women, as well as raise vital funds for charity.

The motivation behind this idea was not only driven by Kerrie’s personal experience of living with congenital heart disease, but also the lack of awareness of heart disease in women, and the opinion that heart disease is often considered a ‘man’s disease’.

With this in mind, the long-term goal of the collaboration will focus on exploring more ways in which to reach more women and educate them on how to keep their heart healthy, as well as the potential symptoms to look out for.

Kerrie’s story

Kerrie was born in 1982 with congenital heart disease (CHD) and has had seven open heart surgeries to date. In May 2021 she also fell gravely ill with sepsis caused by infective endocarditis. Her chances of survival were slim, but thankfully she got through several heart surgeries, as well as being placed in a medically induced coma for 20 days.

It was this life-changing experience that led her to create the Gold Hearted Club, a platform she successfully uses to raise awareness of congenital heart disease and connect with others living with a similar diagnosis. It also enables her to raise money for the British Heart Foundation, which directly helped to save her life through their groundbreaking research. 

Kerrie knows that she will need to have heart surgery again, but her hope is that one day, there will be a cure. She is really passionate about fundraising for more important research to prevent, as well as treat, CHD, so that she and others living with a similar diagnosis can continue to lead a full life. 

‘Almost 1 in 100 babies in the UK are born with congenital heart disease.’ - NHS.

‘No two heart defects are exactly the same. So what’s successful in treating one person may not work as well for another person.’ - British Heart Foundation.

Meet Emma, Jewellery Designer behind Narratorium.

As a fellow creative and jeweller passionate about storytelling, Emma was keen to collaborate with Kerrie so that she could help her to tell her incredible story and support her cause.

Her jewellery brand Narratorium is where she enjoys designing unique, contemporary, handmade jewellery inspired by a specific narrative or meaning. This is why finding a way to share Kerrie’s story was the perfect project.

Emma also loved the idea of creating a charitable piece to raise money for the British Heart Foundation, as she too has been affected by the impacts of heart disease when she lost her father very suddenly and unexpectedly to an aortic dissection in 2020. 

The Debut Concept - A Heart of Gold Necklace

To kick off their collaboration and for this crowdfunding project, Kerrie and Emma are proposing to make one hundred, one of a kind, completely unique, gold heart necklaces.

Each heart will be individually sculpted/created by hand and will be completely unique with its own very subtle differences. Each one perfectly imperfect and symbolic of the many different precious hearts that have been shaped in different ways by heart disease.

Emma and Kerrie hope that these pieces will be worn to empower those already affected by heart disease or by those simply connected to and passionate about the cause, who would like to help raise awareness of heart disease in women and ways to prevent it.

To achieve this, they hope the unusual organic nature of the heart charm, sitting on a necklace in a very visible position on the chest, will spark all-important conversations about heart disease and encourage more women to take their heart health more seriously.

Kerrie and Emma have also created a bespoke kit option to ‘make your own heart of gold’, whereby you can create your very own, completely unique heart necklace.

And, most importantly 20% of each sale will be donated to the British Heart Foundation so that it can continue to make important advances in heart disease.

Rewards for pledging your support

• Donate any amount without reward and just because you support the cause.
• Donate £5 to support the cause and receive more info on heart disease and potential symptoms, as well as how to look after your heart, plus a personal thank you via an email from Kerrie & Emma.
• Donate £10 to receive postcard mail out with more info about the campaign and info on potential symptoms of heart disease and how to keep a healthy heart, plus a personal thank you from Kerrie and Emma. (Ships to UK only)
• Donate £15 to receive 15% discount at Narratorium & Gold Hearted Club as a thank you.
• Donate £65 for an original piece of Gold Hearted Club art, a perfectly imperfect gold heart with gold leaf. (Ships to UK only)

Gold Heart Art made by Kerrie Kent.

These beautifully delicate gold hearts are completely individual, each textured outlined heart is coated in gold foil. The imperfections created with the gold foil are reminiscent of Kerrie's journey with congenital heart disease.

Buy for yourself or a loved one and remember those with heart disease, those gone too soon, and those who continue to fight. Display this art to honour their courage, strength, and sheer determination. Make it a conversation starter to share the stories of your heart.

Dimensions: A4 (297 x 210mm)
Stock: 350gsm G.F Smith
Each piece is signed and dated in the bottom right-hand corner.

• Donate £155 to receive a one of a kind, handmade gold heart necklace in 18ct gold plated Sterling Silver. (Ships to UK only)

These completely unique, hand sculpted gold heart necklaces are made from Sterling Silver and finished in 18ct gold plate. No two hearts are the same and each one has a slightly different detail or texture. They are very tactile and are a lovely weight.

Each heart charm will look completely different as they are individually handcrafted. They will have similar features or even a combination of the features shown in the hearts below. It's a bit like a lucky dip! However, if you would like to specify a particular style from the choices below then please message directly via the Crowdfunder platform or Kerrie at Gold Hearted Club after you have ordered.

The heart charm is approximately 10mm x 10mm and comes presented on a beautiful and delicate, filed curb chain which is available in either 16 inches or 18 inches.

It comes beautifully packaged with an organic cotton jewellery pouch for storage and microfibre cleaning cloth, as well as more information about Kerrie and Emma's story and information on heart disease.

• Donate £135 to receive a one of a kind, handmade heart necklace in Sterling Silver. (Ships to UK only)

For those who prefer to wear silver instead of gold, choose this option for a completely unique, one of a kind silver heart necklace - just like the gold one above. Also available on a 16 inch or 18 inch chain.

• Donate £250 to receive a bespoke kit to 'make your own' heart necklace in 18ct gold plated Sterling Silver. (Ships to UK only)

If you'd love to have a go at making your very own heart shaped necklace with your own hands, then choose this bespoke 'make your own' heart of gold necklace kit.

The kit includes a small pot with a ball of red wax for you to hand sculpt your heart charm, instructions on how to do this, a pre-paid envelope for returning your wax and more information on Kerrie and Emma's story as well as information on heart disease.

Once you have finished modelling your heart, return it in the pot and pre-paid envelope for your heart to be cast in Sterling Silver. Your charm will then be finished and returned to you as a beautiful gold necklace. 

You can also choose a 16 inch or 18 inch chain for this option.

• Donate £230 to receive a bespoke kit to 'make your own' heart necklace in Sterling Silver. (Ships to UK only)

For those who prefer to wear silver instead of gold, choose this option for a bespoke, 'make your own' silver heart necklace - just like the gold one above. Also available on a 16 inch or 18 inch chain.

All rewards will be delivered within 5-7 weeks from the campaign's end date and by the end of April 2023 at the very latest.

Please make sure you choose the right chain length as these cannot be exchanged for a different size. Items cannot be refunded unless faulty.

Bespoke kits must be completed/made and returned within six months of purchase, otherwise an additional fee may need to be charged in line with the fluctuating price of silver and gold.

Any rewards that need to be shipped can only be shipped to the UK.

The goal

With the help of the crowdfunding community and their potential backers, Kerrie and Emma hope to learn that there is support for their project so that they can bring their unique jewellery concept to market and continue raising awareness as well as ongoing funds for the British Heart Foundation.

If Kerrie and Emma hit their crowdfunding target of around £35,000 they will be able to donate just over £5000 to the British Heart Foundation from this project. If they don't quite make their target, they will still be donating 20% of the proceeds to the charity as they have chosen to run a 'keep what you raise' campaign.

With the remaining funds Kerrie and Emma also want to continue exploring a wider collection of jewellery and look at other ways in which they can continue to educate and raise awareness of heart disease in women as they have lots of wonderful ideas. The money will go towards design time, prototyping and the development of additional pieces such as earrings, rings and bracelets, so that they can appeal to and reach an even wider audience.

The money raised for the British Heart Foundation will be donated via Kerrie on the official West Kent fundraising team for the BHF.  www.justgiving.com/team/Hearts-of-gold

Risks & challenges

There is minimal risk involved in the project as Kerrie and Emma have carefully calculated all costs and timeframes associated with the project in order to deliver rewards to supporters. These timeframes and T&Cs have been set out above. 

Thank you

Both Kerrie and Emma hope you love the concept and necklaces as much they do. If you'd like to keep in touch or find out more information about the project you can connect with them both on Instagram at @goldheartedclub and @narratorium or via their websites  www.goldhearted.club and www.narratorium.co.uk

If you're unable to financially pledge your support this time but still really love the campaign, then please do help them by spreading the word and share the campaign link www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/gold-hearted-club-x-narratorium and don't forget to tag them on social using #aheartofgoldproject

A big thank you to Lewis Darby and Sophie Whitehead at Yard B Studio's for making the crowdfunding video and photography.

Thanks also to Lily Spencer at The Brasserie, One Warwick Park for set location. Plus thanks to Gemma Dunn & Hazel Beevers for proofing and help with copy.

This project successfully funded on 25th March 2023