Woman turns tragedy into hand-crafted business

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    OTISVILLE, Michigan (WNEM) — Whether it’s a story of sorrow or a moment of pride, a mid-Michigan woman is helping others preserve the deep sentimental value. She creates DNA jewelry to transform a physical piece of a loved one into a lasting memory.

“Just want them to have something that they can look at and just remember their loved ones by,” said Breanna Barnett, owner of Meadow Rayne Keepsakes.

This mid-Michigan mother turned her own tragedy into a business. Now she wants to help other people remember their loved ones with her hand-crafted designs.

“Back in 2017, my husband and I were pregnant with our second child, which was going to be our first daughter and the pregnancy went great. Everything went smooth up until one day at work. I didn’t really remember feeling her move,” Barnett said.

Barnett, who is from Otisville, said her daughter Meadow Rayne came into this world at just 32-weeks. Their hearts were shattered when the family found out their perfect little girl didn’t have a heartbeat. The family spent that first night in the hospital holding her.

“Gathered as much things from her that we could remember her by and one of those was a little lock of her hair, ’cause she had long dark hair,” Barnett said.

Barnett wanted to make sure Meadow was never forgotten. She also didn’t want to store those precious memories into a box.

So, she started to learn how to make DNA jewelry. That’s how her business Meadow Rayne Keepsakes started. Beautiful keepsakes that are infused with various memorabilia like breast milk, placenta or even the umbilical cord.

“My most common ones are a lock of hair, lock of fur from a pet that has passed away. Cremation ashes from either people or pets,” Barnett said.

Barnett said her family always keeps a little piece of Meadow with them everywhere they go.

Even though losing her baby was the hardest thing she ever had to go through, she is grateful to keep her memory alive by helping others.

“I know a lot of people think it’s harder to talk about that baby, but for me, that’s the most healing is talking about her. Realizing that she was here and that you know she had an impact on people,” Barnett said.

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