It’s called Victorian Hair Jewelry; the art of making bracelets, earrings, necklaces and brooches using human hair or necklaces, bracelets and hat bands using horse hair. The art is centuries old, but Lucy Cadwallader of York County is one of the very few that does it.

“I don’t look at it as how many hairs am I counting to make a piece because it’s literally in the thousands of hairs that are being counted, I look at it more as what can I make from that?” Cadwallader said.

Pieces are requested to remember loved ones; to help people through a very difficult time. For one mother, the jewelry is a way of staying close to her son. “Even though it is a necklace around her neck, she holds it so much so it can be near her heart,” Cadwallader said.

Human hair jewelry is more requested than horse hair, but both take a lot of patience. On average, pieces take 8 to 10 hours to complete and vary in cost depending on detail and difficulty. Cadwallader donates some of her profits to Olivia’s House, a grieving center in York, and also to help with women’s hair loss.