Pierson Student Puts Love Of Jewelry Making To Good Use With The Charm Project

When Sophia Beech first ordered a simple bracelet making kit off Amazon, it was a purchase intended to give her something to do during the summer. The Pierson High School student lives in Wainscott, but decamps to Montauk in the summers with her family, and she figured that making bracelets would give her “something to do to pass the time,” she said, while lounging around outdoors or sitting on the beach.

Before long, however, Beech decided that crafting bracelets could serve others as well.

That’s how The Charm Project was born.

For the past year, Beech, a rising senior at Pierson, has been making bracelets and necklaces and selling them, first to family members and eventually to friends and others, and donating the proceeds to various charities. She dubbed the effort “The Charm Project,” and created an Instagram page (thecharmproject_) where she posts photos of various bracelets and necklaces she’s created for sale.

“I started making them, and family members liked them, and I said I can probably do something with this,” Beech said during an interview last month.

Beech’s creations are colorful but simple and delicate. Bracelets made with small beads in an array of bright colors are often adorned with one larger flat bead with a simple smiley face, a gold shell or one simple charm — ocean themed charms, like a sea turtle or dolphin, are popular.

During the last school year, Beech brought The Charm Project to the Pierson Interact Club, a community service organization, and proceeds from sales of the bracelets the club members made benefited Save the Children Ukraine.

Beech said that an urge to give back has been a feature of her personality from a young age, and added that the unique circumstances of her upbringing may have played a part in that.

Beech was born in Connecticut, but spent much of her elementary school years in Dubai, where she lived with her family for eight years — her father’s work brought them there — before moving back to Sag Harbor and enrolling in Pierson Middle School when she was going into sixth grade.

“Our school [in Dubai] was very diverse and I had friends from all over the world,” she said, adding that being raised in that kind of globally connected environment made her more generally aware, even at a young age, of current events, and, subsequently, issues and conflicts around the world that needed attention and support, raising her awareness about the importance of charitable giving.

Beech does not have a particular cause or charity that she focuses most of her efforts and energy on, but rather said she is interested in trying to spread out the love, so to speak, with The Charm Project. Thus far, she has made donations to the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, Save the Children, and the Rell Sun East End Foundation.

While the dollar amounts of each of those donations have yet to exceed $200, Beech said that for her, it’s the act of giving that is most important, and she’s hoping that increased visibility of her products through Instagram will enable her to give even more in the future.

“I definitely want to continue making and selling bracelets and making necklaces, and I want to donate to as many charities on the East End as I can,” she said. “I feel like donating to one group is amazing, but I would love to help as many organizations as I can.”

Beech said she will continue to try to connect with more local charities, and added that she’s particularly interested in extending the reach of The Charm Project to help organizations focused on humanitarian and/or environmental causes. In addition to being part of Pierson’s Interact Club, Beech has also been a member of the Pierson Green Club for four years, and like many people her age, is invested in the effort to combat climate change and safeguard the natural environment.

“I’m happy with the progress I’ve made so far, and I’ve really enjoyed giving back to all the charities I’ve given to,” she said. “But I would donate to any charity I could.”

Find The Charm Project on Instagram at thecharmproject_.