In October 2012, during that year’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Fiji Water and Singapore jeweller Carolyn Kan of Carrie K. Artisan Jewellery released the Fiji Water Courage Harness. It was a limited-edition leather accessory, and all the profits from its sales went to the Breast Cancer Foundation in Singapore. Only 120 pieces were made. Each cost S$128, and the organisers hoped to raise more than S$10,000 for the charity.
A strap with more than one job
The harness was a black braided leather strap fastened with a multi-function silver clasp. In its first role it went around a bottle of Fiji Water so the bottle could be carried by hand. Once the bottle was empty, the same strap could be worn as a leather bracelet or a choker. Carrie K. designed it to be worn in five different ways.
Carolyn Kan based the design on ancient battle wear. The idea of armour linked to the campaign’s theme of courage, and it also suited a brand that had always used bold, slightly rock-inflected motifs.
The charms and what they meant
Two silver charms hung from the braided leather. One was the crown insignia of Carrie K. The other was made specially for the campaign in the shape of a lion’s paw, a symbol of courage. The organisers dedicated the paw to the courage of breast cancer patients and to the strength of the families and friends who supported them.
The lion’s paw tied the charity theme to the jewellery itself, so the cause was visible on the piece rather than only on the packaging or the price tag. Silver and black leather also made the harness easy to wear as a bracelet long after the water was gone.
Three women behind the campaign
The campaign had three ambassadors. Theresa Tan received the Singapore Woman Award in 2012 and had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010. She appeared in the campaign photographs wearing the harness as a bracelet.
Janice Wong was the dessert chef behind 2am:dessertbar and had already won recognition for her work by 2012. The third ambassador was Carolyn Kan, founder of Carrie K. Artisan Jewellery and designer of the harness.
The three women also took the campaign onto Singapore radio, appearing on stations including 938Live and Kiss92 FM to talk about the harness and the cause behind it. For Theresa Tan, whose own diagnosis had come two years earlier, the campaign was a public way to talk about living through breast cancer.
Where it was sold in 2012
In 2012 the Courage Harness was sold only through a small group of stockists. One was the Carrie K. Atelier at 136 Bukit Timah Road, which took weekday viewings by appointment. The others were the four Antoinette patisserie outlets: 30 Penhas Road, #02-33/34 Mandarin Gallery, #01-02/03 Scarlet Hotel and #B1-08/09/10C Palais Renaissance.
The harness could also be ordered online through the Carrie K. website, carriekrocks.com. With only 120 pieces and a single price of S$128, the whole run was small enough that the target was within reach: selling out at that price would bring in S$15,360 in sales before costs.
The harness was one of several products sold in Singapore that October to support breast cancer causes. Others included a ring from TianPo Jewellery and a Clinique moisturiser tied to Evelyn Lauder, who co-founded the pink ribbon campaign.