A keepsake for your difficult journey
Our story
When it came to starting our family, we found it wasn’t as easy as those high school teachers told us back in the day. After a year of trying, I had a laparoscopy and was diagnosed with stage three endometriosis. Our doctor was confident we would fall pregnant quite quickly after the operation. But we didn’t.
On the outside I was fine, but on the inside I was far from fine. I knew a piece of jewellery wouldn’t get me pregnant, but I found myself wanting to have something symbolic to wear, hold, touch. None of the symbolic jewellery I could find, however, felt very special. It didn’t seem precious enough to convey the depth of what I was going through.
Meanwhile, I was finding friends and family struggled to know what to say. There weren’t any words suitable.
And so the Artemis Project was born. A brand specialising in keepsakes for this difficult time. Something special to hold when that invitation for another baby shower came through. Something meaningful a loved one could gift when there were simply no words. Something to connect the thousands of people going through infertility.
Our journey ended positively. The month we were due to start IVF, Harper was conceived. But we also know that for many the journey is much much longer. We hope that these necklaces can serve as a reminder of community in the tough times and bring hope and comfort.
Why the deer?
Fertility symbols are a dime a dozen - lotus flowers, moonstones and Tikis, to name but a few. But infertility? The “traditional” symbol of infertility is a pineapple. But that doesn’t really feel right when it comes to such a deep and significant issue.
So we found our own significance.
In Ancient Greece, the deer was symbolic of the goddess Artemis, patron of the quest. What better way to think about infertility than a quest? The seemingly endless pursuit of that tiny little “+” sign on a pregnancy test.
We chose a male deer (male deer have antlers) specifically because fertility isn’t just a woman’s issue. But we also wanted our symbol to be significant for women, whose bodies go through so much in their quest for fertility, so our deer’s antlers bear a subtle resemblance to shape of the uterus and ovaries.
So while your necklace might not carry a traditional fertility symbol, or a pineapple, we hope you find as much meaning in it as we do.