Although he lives hundreds of miles from Massachusetts, Cincinnati-area jewelry designer Daniel Welling felt that the April 15 Boston Marathon tragedy hit close to home.

“I was working in the store Tuesday, and couldn’t stop thinking about the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings,” says Welling, a designer at Welling and Co. in West Chester, Ohio. “Being a runner, it really hit home with me.”

Inspired by wristbands made especially for causes, such as the yellow Livestrong bracelet, Welling decided to create jewelry to honor the victims.

Using CAD, designed a sterling silver shoe tag with the words Run For Boston 4-15-13 cut out on the tag, allowing runners to thread shoelaces through the piece. “It is something runners can always have with them,” Welling says.

24 mm x 10 mm sterling silver commemorative marker 

The tags are sold for $12 each, and 100 percent of the profits will go to One Fund Boston, the organization established by Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick and Boston mayor Tom Menino to help those affected by the tragedy. Welling has been taking orders by phone and online. 

“We’ve sold over 500 tags so far and keep getting phone calls,” Welling says.  He is expecting local runners to wear the pieces during Cincinnati’s Flying Pig Marathon on May 4.

“It is a way for others to keep the victims in their memory,” Welling says. “I felt like it was something I needed to create.”

JCK