Our Founder: Melody Godfred - the Self Love Philosopher

By 2015, I had hit every milestone I had ever dreamed of: a great career, husband, kids, a home. And yet, I was lost, unhappy, and disconnected from my true, authentic self due to a profound lack of self love and self care. I was taking care of everyone and everything -- except myself.

I desperately needed a bold, beautiful daily reminder to choose, honor and remember myself. So I created one. This is how the very first Self Love Pinky Ring came to be. I never set out to start a business. I set out to change my own life. Since this was the biggest commitment of my lifetime, I wanted it to be to as significant in style as an engagement ring. I wore it on a finger I had never worn a ring on before, my pinky, because I wanted this ring to make a bold statement that was instantly recognizable.

Within a month, I felt myself and my life transforming. Each day, my Self Love Pinky Ring inspired me to engage in self discovery, to spend time nurturing my mind, body and soul, and to learn how to truly love all parts of myself. I thought to myself, "If this worked for me, maybe it can work for other women as well." And so I created Fred and Far, a brand where every detail is imbued with my heart and passion for empowering women.

In less than two years, women in 50+ countries joined me in making a pinky promise to choose themselves each and every day. They signed our pinky pledge card boldly shared their commitments with the world. And through our social media platforms and website, I've had the great privilege of witnessing these extraordinary women, sharing their stories, and cultivating a powerful community of women who believe that self love and sisterhood will save the planet (because they will).

Making a purchase here, or any purchase for that matter, isn't required to make self love part of your story. You simply have to decide that you're ready to choose yourself, and to do the daily work it takes to make self love and care a habit instead of a luxury. The Self Love Pinky Ring is designed to be a reminder and symbol of this commitment and our community. The magic though, the transformative change, that comes directly from you.

While a piece of jewelry played a central role in the launch and growth of this company, it is only one small piece of a much greater intention, mission, and movement. The first phase of this company was devoted to asking women to choose themselves. In 2019, I expanded into phase two of the company, which is about answering the question, "HOW, do I choose, love and care for myself?"

In 2020, I honored my personal journey of reclaiming my most authentic self by publishing my first poetry book, Self Love Poetry for Thinkers and Feelers, a collection of 200 poems that represent the very best of the poetry I've written while exploring what it means to love yourself. The book was soon noticed by Andrews McMeel Publishing, who acquired it as part of a three-book deal and republished it in 2021.

In 2022, I published two more books, the first, The ABCs of Self Love, a guided self love journal that empowers women to make self love and care an intrinsic and actionable part of everyday life. The book includes everything I've learned at the helm of this movement, and also on my own personal self love journey. It is designed to be an easy read, where you can explore one letter a day through narrative text, inspiring quotes, and practical action items that transform ideas into habits.

In the Fall of 2022, I published my latest poetry book, The Shift: Poetry for a New Perspective, a collection of poems designed to reframe how we move forward in this brave, new post-pandemic world. The book was recently nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award in the poetry category. 

While creating the Self Love Pinky Ring was the catalyst behind this movement, it isn't the core of it: each of you are. Every woman who has landed here because she is ready to choose herself is the heart and soul of this movement, and I am forever grateful for your sisterhood.

I invite you to join our Self Love Movement and experience the magic that choosing yourself will bring to your life, and into the lives of everyone around you, because self love fuels all love. Whether you are married, single, or at any point in between or beyond, you belong here. 

With all my love,

Melody