The Heart Behind Chain Valley Gifts
Meet Yvonne Ralph
Co-Founder of Chain Valley Gifts
For more than a decade, I've had the privilege of helping Australian families celebrate life's most meaningful moments and honour the people they love through personalised keepsakes.
I'm the co-founder of Chain Valley Gifts, a family-run Australian business based on the NSW Central Coast. Alongside my daughter, Cassie, we've created thousands of personalised gifts that have become treasured reminders of love, family and lasting memories.
What began as a small personalised gift business has grown into one of Australia's trusted destinations for memorial keepsakes, sympathy gifts and personalised gifts for every stage of life.
While our products have evolved over the years, one thing has never changed—our belief that every gift should tell a story and every keepsake should be made with genuine care.
At a Glance
| Name | Yvonne Ralph |
| Role | Co-Founder, Chain Valley Gifts |
| Location | Central Coast, NSW, Australia |
| Experience | 10+ years creating personalised keepsakes |
| Special Interests | Memorial keepsakes, grief support, personalised gifting |
| Qualifications | Certified Life Coach • Master Practitioner of NLP • Grief Counselling studies |
| Featured In | WHO Magazine, Dynamic Business, Balance the Grind, The Carousel, Child Magazine, Kiddo, The Senior, Central Coast Community News |
Our Story
Chain Valley Gifts wasn't created from a business plan.
It was created from a love of making meaningful gifts and a desire to help people celebrate life's important moments.
Like many families, ours has experienced profound loss.
In 1991, my beautiful daughter Jessica passed away at just 18 months old. Years later we lost my sister Denise and my niece Michelle in a tragic car accident. More recently, our family experienced another heartbreaking loss when my niece Hannah gave birth to her beautiful son, Darcy, who was stillborn at 38 weeks.
My daughter Cassie has also experienced significant loss, including the passing of her first husband, later her mother-in-law, and then her grandmother.
Each experience changed us.
Each reminded us how important it is to preserve memories and acknowledge the people we love.
Those experiences naturally led us towards creating personalised memorial keepsakes that provide comfort during life's most difficult moments.
Today, our Memorial Keepsakes Collection includes personalised ornaments, lanterns, plaques, photo gifts, wind chimes, garden tributes and keepsake boxes, each thoughtfully created to help families honour and remember the people they love.
→ Explore Our Memorial Keepsakes Collection
Today, helping grieving families has become one of the most meaningful parts of what we do.
Our Journey
From our early beginnings through to today, every chapter of our journey has helped shape the business we've become.
What I've Learned About Grief
People often ask me what I've learned after experiencing my own losses and helping thousands of families create personalised keepsakes.
I'm certainly not an expert on grief—because I don't believe anyone ever truly is. Every person's journey is unique.
But over the years, there are a few things that I've come to believe.
Grief has no timeline
One of the biggest misconceptions about grief is that it follows a schedule.
It doesn't.
Some days you can smile at happy memories. Other days, years later, a song, a photograph or a familiar scent can bring the tears back as though the loss happened yesterday.
I've learned that neither response is right or wrong. They're simply part of loving someone deeply.
People don't want to forget
One of the greatest fears many grieving people have is that others expect them to move on.
In my experience, most people don't want to move on.
They want to move forward while carrying the memory of the person they love.
There's a very important difference.
Love doesn't end because someone's life has ended.
Small acts of kindness matter
When someone is grieving, they rarely remember who bought the biggest bouquet of flowers.
They remember the friend who quietly checked in months later.
The neighbour who dropped off a meal.
The person who simply sat beside them without trying to fix anything.
Kindness doesn't need to be grand to be meaningful.
Memories deserve to be shared
One of the greatest gifts we can give someone who is grieving is to continue speaking the name of the person they've lost.
Share a story.
Tell them what you remember.
Mention something that made you smile.
For many families, hearing those memories reminds them that their loved one's life continues to have an impact on others.
Keepsakes preserve connection
People sometimes ask whether a memorial keepsake makes grief harder.
I've found the opposite.
A keepsake doesn't replace the person you've lost, and it certainly doesn't take away the pain.
What it can do is provide a tangible connection to precious memories.
It becomes something to hold, to display, to visit or simply to see each day—a quiet reminder that love doesn't disappear.
If you're searching for a meaningful way to honour someone special, you can browse our collection of handcrafted memorial keepsakes created with compassion and care.
Hope and grief can exist together
This is perhaps the most important lesson I've learned.
Grief and joy are not opposites.
You can laugh while still missing someone.
You can celebrate milestones while wishing they were there.
You can build a beautiful life without ever forgetting the people who helped shape it.
I've learned that healing isn't about leaving someone behind.
It's about finding a way to carry them with you.
Our Workshop
Every keepsake is designed, printed, engraved and carefully packed from our workshop on the NSW Central Coast.
While we've grown over the years, we're still a family business at heart. Every order is created with attention to detail and treated as though it were for our own family.
As Seen In
I'm incredibly grateful to have shared our story through a number of Australian publications.
- WHO Magazine
- Dynamic Business
- Balance the Grind
- The Carousel
- Child Magazine
- Kiddo
- The Senior
- Central Coast Community News
While media recognition is wonderful, what matters most is knowing that the work we do continues to bring comfort to families during life's most difficult moments.
Articles by Yvonne Ralph
This page is the home of my writing about grief, remembrance and meaningful gifting.
Current articles include:
- Thoughtful Memorial Gift Ideas for Someone who has lost a Loved One
- Supporting Someone who is Grieving: A Guide for Friends and Family
-
Memorial Keepsakes vs Sympathy Gifts (coming soon)
-
What to Write in a Sympathy Card (coming soon)
-
Choosing a Memorial Keepsake (coming soon)
-
Understanding Grief (coming soon)
Looking for Guidance?
If you're navigating grief or searching for a meaningful way to honour someone special, I've created a growing collection of articles designed to help.
From choosing an appropriate sympathy gift to understanding memorial traditions and finding words of comfort, our Memorial Information Centre is here to support you.
- Read The Memorial Information Centre
- Browse our Memorial Keepsakes
- Learn More About Chain Valley Gifts
Thank You
Thank you for taking the time to read our story.
Whether you've visited us to celebrate a milestone, honour someone special or simply find inspiration, I'm grateful you've found your way here.
Every order we receive represents someone's story, and it's a privilege we never take for granted.
With warmth,
Yvonne Ralph
Co-Founder
Chain Valley Gifts
Meet Our Family Business
While this page shares my personal story and the inspiration behind my writing, you can also learn more about our family business, our mission and the people behind Chain Valley Gifts.