A mum-of-five has revealed how she spends her time taking fingerprints from people who have died to make beautiful jewellery for their loved ones.
Lucille Whiting, 40, from Kedington, Suffolk, created Sophia Alexander Jewellery in 2006 and initially focused on making casts of babies’ hands and feet for new parents.
In 2007, she moved more towards fingerprint jewellery and now takes moulds of fingerprints and turns them into rings, necklaces and bracelets.
As well as accepting online orders using postal kits, Lucille also works directly with the people she fingerprints – either during end-of-life care or even visiting the bodies at funeral homes.
“There’s something very special about working so closely with a person or a family to create something that really matters – something with a personal connection,” Lucille told Jam Press.
“It’s real family heirlooms that will be worn and held and cherished 100 years from now.”
Initially, Lucille, who is mum to five children aged between 16 and five, made casts of baby hands and feet in bronze but the logistics made it difficult to continue with that route.
She said: “Moving towards personalised jewellery was a logical step but I utterly fell in love with everything about it, from the gold and the platinum to the people.”
Now she works either with postal kits or will go out in person for some customers who live locally.
She said: “People who order via the website are usually those who are a long way from me. I send them a gift-wrapped kit with full instructions so that they can take moulds of their fingerprints and ink fingerprints.
“They then send them back to me. If they get stuck, I usually jump on a Zoom call with them.
“My local customers are usually looking for my in-person service. This is where I go out myself to take fingerprints. It’s often an end-of-life service or, I go out to funeral homes.
“Home visits for taking end-of-life fingerprints are a quiet, gentle experience. It’s an absolute honour to be trusted with something so special and to be welcomed into people’s homes.
“These people are so loved and visits are usually calm and peaceful. Sometimes, with a few tears and lots of hugs and questions. I try to be as informative as possible.
“Funeral home visits are very different. Funeral directors and people working in funeral homes are consummate professionals and are always more than helpful. They often work with me to take sets of fingerprints and it really helps to have the support of another person.
“It’s nice to know that I’m doing something that will make families happy. I create real tangible reminders of their loved ones that they can hold, so although it will never stop being difficult, that thought stops it being so upsetting.
“If there’s a fingerprint there to capture, I’ll capture it but there are always occasions when there really are no fingerprints left to take.
“Fingerprints naturally fade after death and sometimes, if I’m contacted weeks after death there’s just nothing left.
“It’s awful having to break that news but I always try to salvage something from the visit so I’m not walking away empty-handed.”
Working with grieving families has been incredibly rewarding for Lucille but it can also be very tough.
She said: “Fingerprint and handprint jewellery is incredibly personal and I’m lucky enough to work one-to-one with some truly wonderful and fascinating people from all around the world.
“It’s an absolute honour to be trusted with something so important, especially as often, there’s only get one chance to get it right, but I’ve been working with impressions for a very long time.
“Every person I work with has a story and everyone is loved beyond compare.
“Some people have lived beautiful, long lives and you can’t be sad for them because their families aren’t sad. They passed peacefully and were happy people who have left wonderful legacies behind them.
“But many leave this world before their time and that’s a lot harder. I’ve taken fingerprints from young parents who should have had decades left in front of them. I’ve made keepsakes for children the same age as my own, their names and dates of birth engraved on the back. I’ve made pieces for babies born sleeping whose parents will never get over the loss.
“There’s a lot of happiness and an awful lot of grief but it’s a privilege and so, so worthwhile.”
The fingerprints may also be used to tattoos, as well as jewellery.
Lucille said: “It’s helpful because I know exactly what I need to see in a fingerprint or a thumbprint for it to be clear enough to translate well onto a tattoo, keepsake, or a piece of jewellery.
“I find that it really reassures people to have some guidance or to carry out the whole process. It definitely helps if they’re struggling because I’ve been taking fingerprints for a long time, so know a lot of tips and tricks when it comes to taking perfect impressions.
“Once I have a clear set of fingerprints, they are pressed into jewellers wax and I gently carve the shape of the necklace or charm around it.
“The wax master copies are then sent to be precision cast in gold or silver at a precious-metal casting house. A mould is made and molten gold or silver is poured inside, leaving a perfect copy in pure metal.
“Once I receive the jewellery back in the studio, it is then buffed, polished and finished.
“At this stage, it can be sent to have diamonds or birthstones added and it can be hand-engraved with a name, date, or a personal message.
“Finally, each piece is hallmarked by a UK Assay Office to verify the quality and purity of the precious metal. Each piece is gift wrapped ready for the customer.
“It’s a really long process!”
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