Bracelets crafted by a Kansas City, Mo., jewelry designer and her two daughters who attend Kansas University were among the $15,000 worth of items given to celebrity performers and presenters at Wednesday’s Grammy Awards.

Just 14 months ago, Shelly DeMotte opened a jewelry business called Whirly Girls. Now, she and her daughters Kellie and Katherine Meyer of Lawrence are receiving national attention for their sterling silver bracelets that promote awareness of afflictions like breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

“Many of our designs speak to causes,” DeMotte said. “The five bracelets that were selected for inclusion in the Grammy gift baskets speak to breast cancer and AIDS awareness.”

The gift packages were delivered inside a piece of $750 Tumi luggage to celebrities and media before the ceremony, DeMotte said.

Though DeMotte wasn’t paid for the 200 bracelets she shipped to the awards a loss of about $30,000 in bracelets and packaging she figures the nationwide exposure will more than make up for the hit.

“The benefit to somebody like us is the exposure,” she said. “It’s the exposure to the celebrities, but it’s also the exposure to the media. It’s a great way to jump-start a small company.”

A photo and short piece about the Whirly Girls bracelets is included in a feature story in the US Magazine that hit supermarket shelves today.

DeMotte’s daughter Katherine Meyer, a KU freshman who helped make the bracelets, was looking forward to watching the awards ceremony.

“I don’t expect to see any of the bracelets,” on the show, she said. “But it’ll be in the back of our minds.”