The Story Behind the My Saint My Hero Blessings of the Sea Sand Dollar Bracelet

Our My Saint My Hero Blessings of the Sea Sand Dollar Bracelet was inspired by my love for the ocean and my swim group, the Mermaids. Sand Dollars are a true treasure and God’s gift that lives in the majestic ocean. I feel a spark of joy when I find one!

Sand dollars are a symbol of friendship, courage, and joy! When the card was created, I asked our Mermaids group to help write and draw the card so that every element of the bracelet, from the gemstones to the packaging, would reflect not only our shared love for the ocean but also our thankfulness for friendship! 

Thank you, Anne D, for your beautiful sand dollar artwork. Thank you, Brooke N, for your poetic words that grace the bracelet card. 

—Amy D'Ambra/My Saint My Hero Founder and Co-Owner

Anne D. "When I’m feeling intimidated by all of the beautiful work out there, I remind myself of what’s important to me. If I can get the emotion or feeling that’s in my head down on the page AND make it look like it took a few quick minutes and not the hours it might have taken, I’m happy.”

Anne was blessed with an encouraging father and a mother who was happy to drive her all over town to art classes. An education in illustration was followed by a career in commercial art.  

For almost fifty years, Anne and her husband have lived in one of Hermosa Beach’s original little houses, where they raised their two kids. When she isn’t drawing or swimming in the ocean with Amy, she’s visiting her grandkids in Florida, being inspired anew by their unbridled imaginations.

Brooke N is a Southern California native and resident who lives with her husband, two children, and best friend (dog). She currently spends her time enjoying the ocean water and her friends with whom she swims in it, followed by a breakfast burrito and coffee when time permits. A social, self-proclaimed nature girl, this ritual feeds her belly and her soul. She enjoys deep conversations, dancing, and singing with her children while they sit in the passenger seat of her beloved minivan, moving forward somewhere (life progression) and nowhere (LA traffic). She also enjoys ear rubs from her one-of-a-kind gem of a husband, who has shied away from them since she increased her ear-piercing constellation during a recent midlife crisis. The earrings are just one of many good things to come from the crisis, the other involving a temporary (permanent?) retirement from her former pursuit of justice for tech companies selling software-as-a-service (in-house corporate counsel). Sometimes she struggles to articulate her thoughts, causing people’s eyes to glaze over.