CLARKS SUMMIT — Eight bracelets. Eight colors. One goal: togetherness.
Corey Ware, a 2012 Abington Heights High School graduate, started Bravery as a way to support charitable causes and help those battling diseases realize they are not alone.
Each colored bracelet represents a different charity, which receives 10 percent of the proceeds of each sale.
“It’s not just about giving back to charities; when you buy a bravery bead, you buy into a support system,” Ware said. “If somebody who doesn’t have breast cancer is wearing the (pink) bead, it’s a way to say I support you. It supports research, but it’s also a visual representation.”
Ware, 23, has been pleased with the success of the start-up and hopes it will continue to grow.
“The website launched on July 6 and since then we’ve had a little over 100 sales, which is good for the first month,” he said. “I’ve thought about creating a business for a while, but I never thought I’d actually do it.
“I wanted to create something that had a good cause and, about a month ago, I just went for it. I’ve always loved wearing wristbands and that’s what I stuck with for the business.”
Although he never previously created any type of jewelry, Ware believes his art background has helped in the process.
“I’ve always been interested in painting and drawing, but this is the first time I actually created jewelry,” he said. “I’m still learning some things.”
Ware noted there was some trial and error before developing the finished product.
“I decided I was going to do it, and went to the store and bought a bunch of beading supplies,” he said. “I got rid of most of them because they didn’t fit what I wanted to make. But, after a lot of tries, I created something that looks and feels good.”
Ware’s slogan for the brand is, “Together, we are brave.”
“Going through cancer or other diseases takes a lot of bravery to get through,” he said. “This is a way to go through it together, rather than trying to get through it by yourself.”
A Clarks Summit resident, Ware has a personal connection to many of the causes he chose to support through the business.
“I picked the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation because I have Crohn’s Disease,” he said. “I used a white bead for the Humane Society because both of my dogs that passed away were white bichons. I know people with breast cancer. I work with someone who was just diagnosed with lymphoma. I know a lot of great kids with autism. I’m dating someone with lupus and a lot of great celebrities I look up to have lupus, and my great grandmother died with Alzheimer’s.”
According to Ware, sales for each color and charity have been spread out evenly.
“I had it in my mind that some would be more popular, but it’s really been scattered around,” he said.
While Ware is the sole proprietor of the business, he has utilized several friends as photographers and models for the website.
Currently, the bracelets can be purchased online at shopbravery.com. Ware also sells them in person and hopes to branch out into local stores.
“I’m also working on rubber Bravery bands, with the same idea that every color (represents) a different charity,” he said.
