{"id":31053,"date":"2014-04-25T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-25T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uncommongoods.pro\/?p=31053"},"modified":"2018-01-04T14:49:14","modified_gmt":"2018-01-04T19:49:14","slug":"design-challenge-winner-dane-short-zymbol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/2014\/design-challenge-winner-dane-short-zymbol\/","title":{"rendered":"A Zymbol is Worth a Thousand Words"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Zymbol<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

With Mother\u2019s 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.<\/a> 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. \u201cGiven that Zymbol contains every letter of the alphabet and every number, it can represent any and all messages; from private anecdotes to everyday affirmations.\u201d Read about how the Short family made an accidental discovery of the Zymbol design and how they are paying it forward with children\u2019s hospitals across America through their one-for-one program. \u00a0Meet Sally and Dane Short: mother and son, business partners, and our latest Jewelry Design Challenge winners!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Zymbol<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

What\u2019s an uncommon fact about you and your hometown?<\/strong>
\nDane:<\/strong> Hmmmm, most of my peers seem to think it\u2019s uncommon that I don\u2019t like Apple products.\u00a0 Wait, are people going to get mad at me for saying that? My hometown, Durango, CO has more restaurants per capita than San Francisco!<\/p>\n

Sally:<\/strong> Most people don\u2019t know that I was a belly dancer in my 20s and performed the Arabian Dance part in the Nutcracker Suite.\u00a0Los Angeles, my hometown, moves approximately one-quarter of an inch to the east every year!<\/p>\n

How did you come up with the concept of the Zymbol Necklace?<\/strong>
\nD:<\/strong> 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 \u2018LOVE IS ALL U NEED\u2019 stacking each letter on top of the next with a peace sign.<\/p>\n

\"Zymbol<\/a>She loved the design and message so much that she decided to send it off to be cast as a pendant.\u00a0A few months later my sister and I randomly saw the pendant sitting on its side and we noticed a \u2018K\u2019 popping out.\u00a0Since there\u2019s no \u2018K\u2019 in the phrase \u2018LOVE IS ALL U NEED\u2019, 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.\u00a0We named it Zymbol as it is one symbol representing all letters A-Z.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"Zymbol<\/a>\"Zymbol
\n<\/a>What’s the most creative story you’ve heard from someone who owns one?<\/strong>
\nD:<\/strong> That\u2019s a tough question!\u00a0People from all walks of life wear Zymbol containing their personal message of inspiration \u2013 from breast cancer survivors to members of the military.\u00a0Of all the testimonials we’ve received, I think the following is my favorite:<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

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.<\/em><\/p>\n

With my daughter’s approval to the concept of the design, I bought six pendants that each received on their birthdays.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u00a0a 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.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

How cool is that!\u00a0She sent me a picture of her daughter\u2019s 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!<\/p>\n

\"tattoo\"<\/a>S:<\/strong> My favorite stories come from children in the hospital. We\u2019ve always thought of Zymbol as a gift to our family.\u00a0Two years into the business we decided to pay it forward by implementing our own version of the TOMS Shoes one-for-one program<\/a>.\u00a0For 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 The following video shows a recent \u2018drop\u2019 we did in Austin, TX.<\/p>\n