Forever Granted

Woman makes her mark with permanent jewelry

By RACHEL STRICKLAND | Photos by BRANDY CRUZ and courtesy of KELSEY THOMAS

There’s a new trend taking the jewelry world by storm, and that’s permanent jewelry. While it might sound scary at first, don’t worry, you’re not signing up to have a bracelet tattooed or soldered onto your skin. Instead, permanent jewelry simply means that the bracelet, necklace or anklet has no clasp, and the two ends of the metal are welded together so that the piece cannot come off unless it’s broken or taken off by a professional.

Temple resident Kelsey Thomas has her own piece of permanent jewelry — a bracelet that she got with her mom and sister years ago when they were at a festival in Waco. Little did she know that event would stay with her and later become part of her livelihood when she opened her own permanent jewelry business, Forever Granted, in May 2022.

Thomas owns a boutique with her mom and sisters, which they opened in 2016, and Thomas was the one who made the jewelry for the boutique, but she stopped after she had her son. Shortly after her maternity leave, she became frustrated with her daily hour-and-a-half commute, and she told her husband that she was unhappy with her day job. When he asked her what she’d rather be doing, a recent trend that she’d seen on TikTok popped into her head — permanent jewelry. She says she’s always loved crafting and making things, and she already had experience with having permanent jewelry herself, so it just made sense.

Thomas wanted a unique name for her permanent jewelry business, and her sister came up with the idea of Granted Designs, named after Thomas’s son. Thomas loved the name, but it wasn’t quite perfect. But then one night in a dream, it hit her — Forever Granted.

“You put this piece of jewelry on, and it’s forever,” she says. “And so, Forever Granted is named after my son, Grant, which really means a lot to me.”

During the week, Thomas works at McLane Company as a compliance specialist in the legal department, but she does permanent jewelry on the weekends.

“I started off small, and I did a few pop-ups, but then it really just took off,” she says.

Someday, though, she’d love to make Forever Granted her full-time job and open her own storefront.

To get started with permanent jewelry, Thomas did an online training program based out of Florida, which helped her learn everything about the industry, from how to get started, what supplies she’d need, how to market her business, as well as how to do the actual welding.

“A lot of people think that permanent jewelry is soldering, but that’s different than welding,” Thomas says.

Welding melts the metal so that it becomes a solid, while soldering heats the metal, but does not soften it. In fact, Kelsey explained that welding forms a stronger bond than soldering does.

At Forever Granted, Thomas offers bracelets, necklaces, anklets and rings, and she has recently begun offering charms that can be added to the chains. She offers more than 30 chain styles that are either 14-karat gold filled or 0.925 sterling silver. Recently, Kelsey began offering the option to add a clasp if someone is not able to have permanent jewelry, such as an athlete.

“That way, they can take their piece of jewelry off and on,” she says. “And then when they are no longer in sports, or whatever it may be, they can always bring that chain back and I can weld it onto to them.”

Thomas usually does local pop-ups at boutiques and festivals, but she’s also traveled around Texas to cities such as Austin, Caldwell, College Station and Taylor. But the place that she does pop-ups at most is Pink Bulldog Boutique and Whimsies Boutique, both in Belton. She also offers private parties and is open to working with her clients for availability.

Permanent jewelry is also a wonderful gift to give your special someone for Valentine’s Day or any special occasion. Gift cards can be purchased at squareup.com/gift/MLK9QDP9AG8KY/order.

“The permanent jewelry community is big, and I’m all about helping others get started if that’s something that they truly want to do,” Thomas says. “It’s not only a business, it’s also intimate. I’ve done bachelorette parties, weddings, and birthday parties. So, it’s more than just a business — it’s meaningful.”

Forever Granted
Phone: 254-780-7690
Social: facebook.com/forevergranted
instagram.com/forever_granted