I had a lovely lunch with my friend Emily from The Startup Wife today. DorkySon and Emily’s son O are a similar age and are very cute to watch together. Her other son M is quite possibly the most adorable, laid back toddler I’ve ever met, with a smile that would shatter even the stoniest of hearts.

DorkySon and O were as excited as ever about the pizza, chips and ice cream that they always order in this restaurant. And I will confess that as well as being pleased to see Emily, I was *very* excited about seeing the ‘data necklace‘ which her husband Stef had given her last week.

When Emily messaged to tell me about the gift, the only way she could describe it was as ‘a necklace made of tweets’ and it sounds crazy but that’s exactly what it is – a beautiful, wearable visualisation of your tweets.

You can choose a specific word or phrase, and Stef will use software to retrieve all your tweets using that word within a set time frame (he chose the word ‘love’ for Emily’s, because despite being a big ole’ tech geek, he’s also a bit of a romantic…).

Then, using laser-etched acrylic and a sterling silver chain, Stef will produce a completely personal and unique necklace for you.

If you’re not on Twitter, you can provide your own text for engraving onto a necklace – a list of your favourite restaurants, or places you’ve been on holiday, or the names of your closest family members. Anything you like, really.

I’m not really one to gush over anything style-related (or indeed anything tech related) but I’m actually a bit blown away by how fab these are. I’ve never really understood what a ‘hack’ is, and whenever Emily has told me that Stef is at one I’ve always imagine him hunched over a computer screen in a darkened room. I hadn’t realised that a hack is actually quite a creative and social thing, which can lead to ideas like the Data Necklace. Who knew that you could combine something gigantically techy with something very hands-on, and create something that is aesthetically really lovely?!

I think the data necklace might be going places. It has already featured on Domestic Sluttery, and as I type Stef is at the Whitechapel Gallery showing off his prototypes. I’d better start saving my pennies (or maybe put it on my Santa list) and thinking about what text I want engraved on mine.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Stef’s Data Necklaces, becoming a Project Supporter, or ordering one for yourself you can find all the details on the website here.

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Photos 2 and 3 of the necklace are by Paul Clarke.