A mutual friend connected me with Alex when we were first diagnosed with breast cancer. Although our diagnosis was not exactly the same, we quickly bonded over our shared experiences preparing for treatment and all the unknowns that came along with that. Alex and I were both moms with two kids and women who had flourishing and exciting careers that we had to put on hold. We started out as strangers, but very quickly became close friends sharing the most emotional, personal, difficult and joyous parts of our lives. Over the last 18 months of knowing each other, rarely a day has gone by that we haven’t checked in, encouraged each other, shared a resource or vented to each other about something involving breast cancer. 

We both celebrated the end of each other‘s chemo and supported each other on the days where we feared for the worst but hoped for the best.

Watching Alex navigate life as a mom, stylist, wife, daughter, sister and friend while facing cancer treatment and a stage four diagnosis has been inspiring. She has taken every opportunity to turn an incredibly challenging situation into a learning experience and to advocate for herself as a patient. 

While facing this very difficult time in her life, she is always thinking of others and supporting her friends. As a stylist, Alex has incredible taste, and we share a mutual love of jewelry. She spoke about her friend Lizzie Mandler many times and would often share her incredible pieces with me. Alex offered to introduce Lizzie and I so that we could chat about the industry and potentially talk about collaborating on something special. 

I knew any friend of Alex‘s would be a friend of mine and the first time Lizzie and I spoke we hit it off. We were excited to create something that would bring together our two brands and we wanted Alex‘s input on the design and the meaning behind these pieces. 

We all want this collaboration to inspire women facing breast cancer and to remind them that the joys and passions and the things that they love can still be a part of them, in spite of a diagnosis and treatment. Jewelry can mean so much to us and remind us of beauty and strength, of accomplishments and dark times and of facing and overcoming challenges.

Lizzie and I wanted to use this collection to both inspire women to be brave and bold and beautiful like Alex, and to give back to women who are facing this battle. We chose The Pink Fund to donate a portion of sales from this collaboration. Their mission of financially supporting women going through a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment felt so important to all of us. Alex and I know too well that cancer treatment takes an incredible amount of emotional and physical energy, but caring for and providing your family and yourself during treatment is also a huge financial burden for so many women. 

We can’t wait to launch these beautiful pieces and to hear about the milestones and moments that are celebrated with this collection.