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With Mother’s Day just around the corner, we couldn’t have picked a better time to feature mother and son duo, Sally and Dane Short, the makers of the inspiring Zymbol Necklace. The actual design of the necklace is intriguing, yet the story behind what the Zymbol represents is what really grabbed our full attention. Depending on who the wearer is, the Zymbol design can mean a million different things–from phrases, to places, to people. “Given that Zymbol contains every letter of the alphabet and every number, it can represent any and all messages; from private anecdotes to everyday affirmations.” Read about how the Short family made an accidental discovery of the Zymbol design and how they are paying it forward with children’s hospitals across America through their one-for-one program.  Meet Sally and Dane Short: mother and son, business partners, and our latest Jewelry Design Challenge winners!

What’s an uncommon fact about you and your hometown?
Dane: Hmmmm, most of my peers seem to think it’s uncommon that I don’t like Apple products.  Wait, are people going to get mad at me for saying that? My hometown, Durango, CO has more restaurants per capita than San Francisco!

Sally: Most people don’t know that I was a belly dancer in my 20s and performed the Arabian Dance part in the Nutcracker Suite. Los Angeles, my hometown, moves approximately one-quarter of an inch to the east every year!

How did you come up with the concept of the Zymbol Necklace?
D: A few years ago something amazing happened to our family. One night my lovely mother, Sally Short, was doodling and she wrote down the phrase ‘LOVE IS ALL U NEED’ stacking each letter on top of the next with a peace sign.

She loved the design and message so much that she decided to send it off to be cast as a pendant. A few months later my sister and I randomly saw the pendant sitting on its side and we noticed a ‘K’ popping out. Since there’s no ‘K’ in the phrase ‘LOVE IS ALL U NEED’, it got us curious and motivated us to look for other letters. That night, we ended up sitting down as a family and uncovering the entire alphabet and every number hidden within the doodle!! We decided to create a line of inspirational jewelry based on the design. We named it Zymbol as it is one symbol representing all letters A-Z.

Given that Zymbol contains every letter of the alphabet and every number, it can represent any and all messages; from private anecdotes to everyday affirmations. I personally wear mine representing daily goals and intentions.The amazing concept about the Zymbol Necklace is that it can represent so many different things to different people.

What’s the most creative story you’ve heard from someone who owns one?
D: That’s a tough question! People from all walks of life wear Zymbol containing their personal message of inspiration – from breast cancer survivors to members of the military. Of all the testimonials we’ve received, I think the following is my favorite:

“I wanted to tell you a story of how your ‘family project’ became a part of my ‘family project’. As a mother of four daughters ranging from 18-30 and a 10-year-old granddaughter I am all about family. As it happens my daughters’ birthdays are all in the spring, so this year I was looking for a gift that would mean something to all of us, a legacy of sorts. But in these financial times I needed something that didn’t cost and arm and a leg. I happened upon Zymbol at a networking event and I couldn’t get the design out of my head. I knew I found the perfect gift for a group of very distinct young women.

I took the group out to eat and talked to them about the idea of creating a ‘family crest’, one that would have a ‘secret’ meaning only to us. They liked the idea and as a group we came up with what that meaning was. (The actual meaning for us isn’t important to explain as the beauty of the symbol is that each family can give it their own special meaning.) What is important is that when we wear it, we have a connection to each other. I know personally when I’m having a bad day (or a difficult client) or just need centering, I will reach up and hold Zymbol in my hand and I find it comforting as for me it represents not only my daughters and granddaughter, but also my mom, my brothers and sisters…my family.

With my daughter’s approval to the concept of the design, I bought six pendants that each received on their birthdays.

My oldest daughter liked the idea so much that she had a tattoo of our ‘family crest’ put on the inside of her wrist. She wanted something that would be not only served as a constant reminder of family, but as a reminder of other things, like being a better mother, or better person. She says if she needs encouragement or centering or maybe even patience at any given moment, she can look at the symbol and be reminded of what is important and what she needs at that given moment.”

How cool is that! She sent me a picture of her daughter’s tattoo which I then posted on Facebook. The idea of tattooing Zymbol caught on and we now know of 22 people who have tattooed Zymbol on their bodies!

S: My favorite stories come from children in the hospital. We’ve always thought of Zymbol as a gift to our family. Two years into the business we decided to pay it forward by implementing our own version of the TOMS Shoes one-for-one program. For every Zymbol sold, we gift an acrylic pendant to a child in the hospital. With the pendant, each child receives an activity sheet full of blank Zymbols.  This allows them to trace and spell out their personal message of inspiration and encouragement. That message can change and evolve each day, or remain consistent. We’ve had kids trace messages like HOPE, LOVE, NEVER GIVE UP and YOU ARE A WARRIOR.  The following video shows a recent ‘drop’ we did in Austin, TX.

How did you celebrate when you learned you were our next Jewelry Design Challenge winner?
D: We were ECSTATIC!!! Our mission statement is to ‘spread love and empowerment, one Zymbol at a time’. We knew winning the Jewelry Design Challenge would help us in fulfilling our mission.

Are there any major projects, collaborations, or ideas you’re working on now that you want to talk about?
D: Our current mission is to visit children’s hospitals all over the country in the next two years. This will be a direct result of our one-for-one program. In the next two months we’ll be visiting Children’s Hospital of Colorado in Denver and Texas Children’s in Houston.

S: I’m most excited at the opportunity to become a vendor with UncommonGoods! This has always been a goal of ours.

What quote keeps you motivated? 
D:  My favorite quote is ‘We become what we think about’ by Earl Nightingale. I am a believer in positive thinking and the law of attraction. I’ve found that by controlling my thoughts, I’m able to control my reality.

S: Mine is more of a phrase than a quote. LOVE IS ALL U NEED. What does it mean to me?  Everything! This phrase has evolved into a business that allows me to work with my family and inspire people around the world.

What advice can you offer anyone who is submitting their work into our design challenge?
D: Don’t be afraid to relentlessly reach out to your network. You are an artist. Be proud of your work. You might be surprised at the amount of support you’ll receive.