You know you’ve always wanted to start a fashion trend.

Italian charm bracelets are all the rage in California, and although DeKalb isn’t necessarily the fashion mecca of the world, two NIU students are working hard to bring this trend to the land of corn.

Robert Ross, a senior computer science major, and Natalie Cuslidge, a junior finance major, teamed up in August to form Persona Charms, an Italian charm bracelet business.

Cuslidge and Ross were inspired to start the business after spending the summer in New York City. After completing internships in New York, Cuslidge and Ross returned to Natalie’s hometown of Stockton, Calif., where they noticed everyone seemed to be wearing a charm bracelet.

“The neatest thing we saw about the bracelets is that total strangers would go up to each other and talk about what their charms meant to them,” Ross said.

Natalie and Robert decided they had to expand this neat trend by selling the bracelets in Illinois. They now sell the bracelets over the Internet and also out of their home.

“We both took out all the savings that we had and bought a lot of charms in bulk,” Ross said. “It was really scary. We thought ‘If it doesn’t catch on, what will we do?'”

Robert and Natalie hope they won’t have to worry much longer. They set revenue goals for Persona Charms, and have already surpassed them just halfway into the month.

The charm bracelets they sell have a starter bracelet, which is $6 and includes 14 blank links. The average person needs about 16 to 18 links to fit the bracelet around the wrist. Each charm also doubles as a link.

Persona Charms carries a wide variety of charms, including seasonal charms like snowmen, jack-o-lanterns and Christmas trees, signs of the zodiac, letters of the alphabet, birthstones, flags, animals, fish, various sports, hearts and even little red huskie paws.

The charms range in price from $15 to $27 each and are made of stainless steel, gold and enamel.

Charm bracelets represent memories and things that are special to a person.

“I wear my bracelet everyday,” Cuslidge said. “My favorite charm on my bracelet is probably the seahorse, because my dad gave it to me. We used to go to the aquarium together and pet them.”

Natalie’s bracelet also features her nickname, Nat, a “sis” charm from her sister, a shark from Robert, her birthstone and various others.