We each have different eye-opening moments about the gravity of our environmental crisis.

Maybe it’s an image of a malnourished polar bear in the Arctic, or seeing vast acres of dying pines in the Rocky Mountains.

For Anne Kreamer, it was the 2018 news story of an orca apparently mourning her dead calf by swimming with her for 17 days and 1,000 miles. This heartbreaking narrative is what sparked the idea to create wearable reminders of the urgent crises facing so many species.

Anne mentioned the idea to her daughter, Lucy Andersen, and Wild & Rare was born. The brand launches with cuff bracelets illustrated and designed by Lucy and handcrafted by Anne.

Anne Kreamer has been a lifelong lover of animals and plants. She spent her early professional life in the media—working at Sesame Street and Nickelodeon and SPY magazine, which she helped found with her husband, Kurt Andersen. She’s written three books exploring barriers that circumscribe our lives—from beauty standards (Going Gray) to emotional expression in the workplace (It’s Always Personal) to how one competes in the 21st century workplace (Risk/Reward). She’s been a decades-long supporter of conservation organizations from Conservation International to the Housatonic Valley Association and the Cornwall Conservancy. Wild & Rare is her third entrepreneurial enterprise and her first to focus exclusively on promoting efforts to preserve our planet.

Lucy Andersen is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Brooklyn, NY who partners with a range of clients across different industries—from boutique record labels to global consulting companies. Before becoming a freelance designer, she was the studio manager of the graphic design firm Eight and a Half and graduated from Harvard with a degree in the History of Art and Architecture. In her spare time she makes funny looking stuffed critters and befriends lots of squirrels and pigeons. Lucy really likes animals.