- Amanda Booth is a mom of three and an artist in Ontario.
- She makes custom jewelry, including pieces with real semen samples from customers.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Amanda Booth. It has been edited for length and clarity.
About 18 months ago, I started making jewelry. I did it as a form of therapy: As a mom of three, I needed a creative outlet that I could escape into. When people started offering to buy my pieces, I figured I could make enough money to pay for my hobby.
Then, a friend reached out after her son's tragic death. She asked me to incorporate his ashes into a memorial piece. I was a bit uncomfortable, but I knew I couldn't say no.
That opened the door to making more memorial pieces from human cremains — ashes from cremation. Next, I started with breast milk jewelry. Then, someone commented on my TikTok asking if I'd work with semen. I was offended at first, but — pardon my pun — the seed was planted.
A few months ago, I was brainstorming with my creative team about possibilities for future products. Someone joked about Jizzy Jewelry, featuring, well, you guessed it. I thought it would stay firmly a joke, but when we posted about it, we immediately got serious orders.
In the first month since officially launching Jizzy Jewelry, we've had 60 paying clients, and at least that many orders are waiting to be processed. Droves of people are reaching out about this for all sorts of reasons.
I've learned not to judge what clients want
I had the same initial reaction that you're probably having — gross. But then I checked my reaction. I pride myself on making my business a judgment-free space. If my clients want this, who am I to give my opinion?
Here's how it works. First, a potential customer books a consultation. Usually that's with my husband, who bravely volunteered his own sample for me to experiment on when I was figuring this out. Once we've set a design and processed payment, the customer sends me their sample. I usually need about one to two teaspoons of fluid. A few people might produce that in one ejaculation, but most will need more than one.
When I get the sample, I dry the fluid overnight. Then, I grind it into a powder. That's folded into the translucent clay that I use to make my pieces.
My customers are diverse
Who's ordering Jizzy Jewelry? Anyone and everyone. It's equal parts men and women initiating the orders. There's a strong interest from the BDSM community. Some people order collars. Vasectomy gifts are popular. I've also made jewelry for a trans woman who would be starting hormone-replacement therapy and wanted to celebrate her transition.
My work is fully customized, so I can make almost anything the client wants. All I ask is that there's clear consent. Gifts are great, but if I'm making jewelry from someone's fluids, I want to know that they know about it.
I'm open to — almost — anything
Even before the Jizzy Jewelry took off, my work was getting attention online. My dirty trinkets — which incorporate penises, vulvas, and breasts — went viral. Once, my 11-year-old son walked in while I was making those. I didn't hide what I was doing, and he asked if that's what a vulva really looked like. He walked out shaking his head, but we both knew that in the future he could come back with any question he had; this sort of thing is normal in our house.
I try to create the same open, judgment-free environment for my customers that I do for my kids. The demand shows that people are hungry for that, and I now make trinkets as a full-time career. My husband quit his job to work in this business, and we hired office staff and creative teams.
What's next? Who knows. I think feces is the only hard boundary for me. Other than that, I'm willing to hear what my customers are interested in and let my own creative juices flow.