Pennsylvania jeweler behind Taylor Swift's new friendship bracelet: "Suddenly, I'm a Kansas City fan"
LANCASTER, Pa. (CBS) – In a small space in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the team at Wove works to the sounds of Taylor Swift. Her "1989" album is mixed with the buzz coming from Liz Beard, the head goldsmith in the office for the customizable jewelry company.
"I hope to be very busy. I will be happy. As a jeweler, I like to be slightly stressed," Beard said while working.
To say the team is busy is an understatement. Sales jumped more than 470% and site traffic skyrocketed more than 2,200% since a "TNT" bracelet they made took center stage post-game at the AFC Championship game.
Fans were quick to notice a new friendship bracelet on Taylor Swift's wrist when she and boyfriend Travis Kelce shared a sweet moment on the field post-win.
Wove staff said it wasn't long after the game before Swifties discovered the "TNT" bracelet came from the small business.
"Our team chat was blowing up," Wove's lead designer Kendall Junck said. "My whole family are Swifties, so my dad immediately called me and was like, 'Is that it is that your bracelet on her?' So my whole family was freaking out. We were on FaceTime. I jumped on my couch. I was crying and screaming!'"
Days before shipping Swift's "Tennis Friendship Bracelet" last month, operations and sales manager Bernie Dufrene said the company got a message from Kelce that he wanted a matching one. The team was able to make them both and ship them in time for Christmas. Then they started watching Chiefs games, hoping to catch a glimpse of the bracelet on the pop star.
"Suddenly, I'm a Kansas City fan," Junck said.
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"We were watching her in the box being like, 'Come on! Can someone turn the heat up in the box?' We needed it to get a little warmer because she is in sweaters," Junck said with a laugh.
Dufrene spotted the bracelet first on Sunday and immediately shared the news in a team group chat.
"Couldn't imagine a better moment. Oh my goodness, the Chiefs win the AFC Championship and she hugs his neck in celebration," Dufrene said. "Oh my goodness, what a special moment."
Junck said the order from the Michelle Wie West Collection came during the holiday season from Kelce for his girlfriend. Junck said Kelce got in touch with them through the professional golfer.
The collection "launched in November of 2023. She has golfed with [Kelce] before. They're friends, so based on the friendship bracelet concept, she reached out to him, and that's how he came to us," Junck said.
"I am the biggest Taylor Swift fan, so to see it on her wrists still does not feel real," Junck said.
Junck, a self-proclaimed Swiftie, said the idea for the diamond friendship bracelet in the collection came not long after she went with her little sister and friends to Swift's Eras Tour in Pittsburgh.
"I still had all of the bracelets on my wrist that we were trading on the subway to and from the show with all the other fans. So when she (Wei West) said, 'Oh, let's do a friendship bracelet!' I was like, 'That is it! That's the inspo — let's run with it!'" Junck said of the design process with the professional golfer over the summer.
As for the "TNT" on the 14k gold bracelet, the team said Kelce did not share exactly what it means.
"We can only speculate it means Travis and Taylor, which of course we love," Dufrene said.
Beard said never in her wildest dreams did she think pop star Taylor Swift would be wearing a piece she spent hours — about eight, to be exact — perfecting. She also worked on Kelce's seemingly identical bracelet.
"It's so exciting. My kids are so excited about it. I love being able to tell people, 'Look, you can see my work,'" Beard said.
CAD Designer Abbie Shedleski feels the same.
"We couldn't have asked for a better moment. For her to be wearing the bracelet that game, like it was just perfect," she said.
Beard, the lead goldsmith, also points out that Swift's bracelet comes from a nearly all-women team in a male-dominated field — something she's extremely proud of.
"It's so cool to be a young woman basically doing exactly what Taylor Swift is saying that she wants young women to do. She is giving us this great opportunity to show our work," Beard said. "She's building us all up, one person at a time."
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