All About YOU

BRAND: Tiny Tags

LOCATION: Boston, MA

FOUNDER: Melissa Clayton

FOUNDED IN: 2011

HOW DID YOUR BRAND BEGIN? I started Tiny Tags over 10 years ago on my kitchen counter when I wanted the perfect "mommy necklace" and couldn’t find one. My inspiration for making that first necklace came from having my first son and just wanting to wear a necklace with his name on it as a way to celebrate this bundle of joy and new chapter. The Tiny Tags brand, and our mission to celebrate children, very much comes from what I feel in my heart— that children are gifts to be treasured and that every woman's motherhood journey is to be celebrated. This desire to focus on mothers came from the early days when I realized how much I loved connecting with other mothers. I found myself spending hours talking on the phone, answering emails, and bonding with customers over the journey of motherhood. Having this focus has allowed us to have an intimate and personal connection with our community.

HOW HAVE YOU GROWN SINCE? When I started, I was hand stamping each piece myself but quickly realized that I wanted Tiny Tags to be heirloom quality jewelry. At that time, the options for fine, personalized jewelry for moms were very limited. I wanted something that would work with jeans and a tee but also work with a little black dress. My vision was that Tiny Tags would be the Tiffany’s of personalized jewelry for moms. This shift away from hand stamping required a complete overhaul of our manufacturing process. Fortunately for me, Rhode Island (only one hour from my home) has a long history of jewelry manufacturing and I was able to find a manufacturing partner that was already making fine jewelry for some of the most iconic brands on the market. Within six months, I completely stopped hand stamping and moved to laser engraving, which is a very labor intensive process, but allows us to do both front and back engraving and produce an absolutely beautiful piece of jewelry. Additionally, we were now able to offer all our pieces in 14k gold, sterling silver, gold vermeil, and offer stone embedding.

WHICH PIECES ARE IDEAL FOR PASSING DOWN? We introduced a new piece called ‘The Reflection Coin Pendant’ last year that was inspired by the belief that to fully love another, we must first love ourselves. I think every woman can relate to this. I love the idea of a mom giving this piece to her daughter when she sets out on her own as a way to say ‘take care of yourself, you are a gift!'

HOW DO YOU DESIGN NEW PIECES? Our community inspires me everyday. I know it sounds corny, but it's true. The inspiration for our Reflection Coin Pendant came from the moms in our community who I kept saying needed to take care of themselves before they can take care of others. This resonated with me on so many levels, from my own mother’s experience and my own. The Reflection Coin Pendant has six symbols that represent the gifts to give yourself before you are able to give them to another. I wear mine every day to remind myself that taking care of me matters.

WHAT IS YOUR BRAND BEST KNOWN

FOR? Our best sellers are our signature mini dog tag necklaces. They are stunning and perfect to have your child’s name on the front and then add a birthday or time on the back. Plus, as your family grows you are able to add new tags to the necklace. A second is our pavé date necklace that is part of the Madi Nelson x Tiny Tags collection. It is a beautiful way to include your partner by wearing your wedding date. As my kids get older and my husband and I are alone more, I see how important it is to not lose your connection with your partner and this piece is a gorgeous reminder of that!

WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL EVERYDAY JEWELRY LINE UP? My staples right now are our bar necklace with my three boys' names engraved and their birth times on the back, our Reflection Coin Pendant, and our pavé date necklace with my wedding date. I love this stack because there is a piece for my boys, my hubby, and me.

WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN THE WORKS? We have quite a few new collections launching this year. My two favorites are our enamel hearts which will come in different colors and lockets that are launching for the holidays!