Monday, July 9, 2012

Vintage Treasure

Pirate booty is what it felt like. This past weekend, I happened to stop by a huge outdoor flea market in my neighborhood. What caught my eye were bins and bins of old vintage jewelry - brooches, earrings,watches, rings, strands of beads, and various parts of things. Usually most garage sales have a few pieces of jewelry, but this was definitely the mother lode. I have been fortunate enough to find a couple of treasures at past sales like these and I was hopeful to find more. My Mom once spent $2 for two large cultured pearls (set in cufflinks), the size of peas, which she had made into a beautiful assymetrical gold ring. I have found long strands of garnets and onyx gems that I have put into various designs. I quit hunting through baggies after my neck started to get sore from looking down so long. Too bad they were closing.

Lately I have noticed the trend toward upcycling parts of vintage jewelry into gorgeous modern designs. One breaktaking example is Adorn by Samouce's site - she does facinating work. So I was looking for special pieces that I knew I could clean, cut, bend, repair, polish and assemble into some unique treasures for you. My stash is growing and I know each one will be very special, because of the history and limited nature of each one. It takes a trained eye to know everyday junk from estate quality pieces. Stay tuned as my creations roll out.

Do you like the detail in reworked vintage style jewelry? Do you prefer simple and small or large statement pieces?


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