We recently connected with Sarah Castillo and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. Can you share a customer success story with us?

I recently had a client mail me the ashes of her child that had passed away at birth. It’s painful to say that dealing with heartbreaking stories like that is not un-common in my line of work. This mother wanted me to preserve the ashes in a ring for her. Now she has a beautiful way to cherish what she has left of her sweet baby. A lot of clients dealing with loss like this find keepsake jewelry to be very helpful in the grieving process. Having this memorial piece brought her a bit of closure and joy to see the ashes displayed in a beautiful way.

Sarah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Keepsakes by Grace is a family-run business dedicated to preserving your memories. I can take your breastmilk, flowers, infant hair, placenta, soil, ashes, (etc.) and professionally preserve it into jewelry. People contact me from all over the world, for many different reasons. Like Jennie from Scotland-who sent me 1 ounce of her breastmilk via mail-to make her a pendant commemorating the end of her breastfeeding journey. Andrea from Alabama-who sent me her breastmilk and a lock of her baby’s hair-for a ring celebrating her last baby’s 1st birthday. Or Haley from the UK-who sent me her father’s ashes-to have a memorial piece made in honor of a life taken too soon.

I have made the process very simple for clients, because I know how complicated it can seem to mail these types of things. You simply go to my website, pick a style you like, and make a purchase. From there you’ll get an email with detailed instructions on how and where to mail the inclusions for your keepsake, then you mail it when you can!

If you’re curious about design ideas, or learning more about the process, my Instagram page is the best source of information. @keepsakesbygrace

How did you build your audience on social media?

It was a lot of time and effort! I have 50k+ followers on my verified Instagram account. My advice is don’t give in to the social media experts, Instagram/Facebook paid ads, or paying large accounts for “shout outs”. It is 100% possible to grow organically. I found success when I realized how social media works, and how to get on more people’s screens. If your content is grabbing their attention, making them click on your page, watch your videos over and over, making them comment or share-that’s what matters. Find that “grab”-every business will have one! Mine, for example, is talking about breastmilk jewelry. It grossed a lot of people out, which means I got a lot of rude comments on my videos. But what did that do? Pushed my page to more and more people!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think the most important thing a business has is their reputation. Especially when its a business like mine that is successful ONLY when you are honest and trustworthy. That’s why posting about client’s stories, behind the scenes, info about yourself, is very important. Building reputation is a lot easier now that social media is so prominent in the business structure.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.keepsakesbygrace.com
• Instagram: @keepsakesbygrace