Maren Love Story - Sunflower Earrings for Carlo

Sometimes a love story begins with a journey through cities, cultures, and shared values—and finds its expression in a small, radiant symbol.

Chester and Carlo found each other across the distance, connected by humour, heart, and a shared understanding of one another. The sunflower became their loving symbol: a reminder of special concerts, small gestures, and deep feelings.

For her birthday, Chester gave his partner Carlo a pair of deeply personal earrings—inspired by their story and handcrafted by us, Maren Jewellery. What emerged is a piece of jewellery full of meaning.

In this Love Journal, Chester and Carlo talk about their connection, the sunflowers—and how a special gift made their love shine just a little brighter.

The following statements reflect the interviewee’s personal experiences and views.

Dear Carlo & Dear Chester,

It was an honor for me to design and create beautiful earrings for you. Chester gave them to you, Carlo, as a birthday gift, and they have become a part of your personal story. That makes me so happy, and I definitely want to learn more about you and your unique love story.

Please introduce yourselves first: Who are you, what makes you special, and how did you find each other?

Carlo & Chester:
I'm Chester and Carlo's my partner and we found each other through online dating while she was living in Leipzig and I was living in Würzburg. We now commute between both cities to be with each other. 

She's German and I'm Singaporean working in Germany. We share similar cultures being both of southern Chinese ancestry, and we have so much fun together and find our values align especially well as we grow together as a couple.  

Thank you for this little special insight.

Now, of course, we want to know from you, Chester, what kind of earrings should it be and why? Tell us more about your ideas and how they came about.

Chester:
Carlo likes sunflowers and played violin in an orchestra. For her first concert (during our relationship) I couldn't be there and made her a custom card designed with sunflowers.

FI finally got her real sunflowers the first time I picked her up from the airport after a trip.

It became a recurring theme in our relationship and an endearing inside joke. In our chats and other digital presences we use a sunflower emoji 🌻 for Carlo and a hippo emoji 🦛 for me haha.

We would like to learn more about when and how you received the earrings and whether you liked them.

Chester:
It was soon to be a year since we started dating and it was also her birthday coming up soon.

Carlo typically only wears Earrings for jewellery and I wanted to get an extra special pair with a sunflower theme.

She loves the earrings and wears them everyday now 😊.

Why did you choose Chester for Maren Jewellery? Did sustainability play a special role in your selection?

Chester:
I looked for B Corp-certified jewelers as I trust their holistic approach and assessment of sustainability and ethics.

I found Maren Jewellery's website through them and really liked both their designs and their approach towards sustainable and ethical business.

When I found that they do custom designs I immediately contacted Helge Maren. She was so helpful with brainstorming a design together, sending beautiful and detailed design proposals which we would easily iterate on.

The end product was more beautiful than anything I had in mind before contacting Helge, and Carlo and I could not love it more 🌻.

Thank you very much for your openness and this wonderful personal insight into this special moment in your life. I wish you, Carlo, a belated happy birthday.

Would you perhaps also like to share your very own individual “maren love story” with us in the form of an interview in one of our journals? Feel free to get in touch with us easily. Whether by email or through one of our social media channels, we look forward to hearing from you and your jewelry story.