Asheville musician's pop-up jewelry raises funds for animal rescues

Sara Brand’s 2026 Etta’s Love Neon Bracelet is sending 100% of its proceeds to Animal Haven of Asheville and Mountain Pet Rescue, a small pop-up project in Etowah that now translates sales into direct help for animals across Buncombe County.

Brand, a musician and jewelry maker, started Brand New Adventure in 2024 as a way to bring in passive income while touring. It soon became a yearly charitable project built around Etta Mae James, her rescued Schnauzer-Cocker Spaniel mix from an Arkansas shelter, and a new Etta-themed design each year. The first bracelet run raised $400 for Charlie’s Angels Animal Rescue in Fletcher and Animal Haven of Asheville. The next year, another $400 went to Labor of Love Transport Rescue in Horse Shoe.

The 2026 bracelet keeps that pattern going, but the money now supports two groups with different but equally pressing needs. Animal Haven of Asheville says it is a ten-acre sanctuary in East Asheville that has cared for rescued farm animals since May 2000. The organization says it receives no city, county or state funding and relies on private donations, fundraisers, grants, mailings and its thrift store to keep operating. Mountain Pet Rescue says it has been a foster-based rescue in Asheville since 2017 and has saved thousands of lives by moving animals through foster homes and into adoption pipelines.

The earlier beneficiaries show how broad that need is. Charlie’s Angels Animal Rescue says it has operated from its Fletcher location since 2012 and depends entirely on donations. The volunteer-based nonprofit says it provides spay and neuter assistance, a pet food pantry and an annual public shot clinic. Labor of Love Transport Rescue describes itself as a 501(c)(3) all-volunteer foster-based rescue serving western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina. Founded in 2019, it focuses on saving dogs from euthanasia by connecting them with partner rescues in the Northeast.

The scale of need is visible in Buncombe County’s main sheltering system as well. Asheville Humane Society says it is the open-admission shelter for Buncombe County and holds the county contract for animal sheltering. In 2025, it reported 3,362 shelter-animal spays and neuters, 809 community and partner spays and neuters, 120,000 pounds of pet food distributed and more than 1,000 lives saved or improved through veterinary assistance vouchers.

Brand’s fundraiser matters because it turns a personal story into recurring, practical support. One local artist, one rescued dog and one made-in-Western-North-Carolina bracelet line are now helping pay for food, foster care, adoption work and veterinary help for animals that would otherwise depend almost entirely on donations.