Reinventing Jewelry the Junkie Way

Copper & Tab Junkie Necklace

Have you ever opened a jewelry box and discovered only one earring? Do you stoop to pick up a sparkly piece of metal on the ground? Does looking through the basement at all the little things your husband/partner saves make your brain start spinning? Is it impossible for you to toss broken jewelry or things that bring you happy memories? Do you no longer use your sewing supplies or has a relative given you a box of buttons, zippers, snaps and hooks?

I find it extremely difficult to toss out ‘stuff’ that could possibly be used for some other purpose. My imagination goes wild when I walk anywhere. I can see ‘strange and common things’ used in unusual ways to create jewelry, pieces of art, clothing, accessories, etc. I can see magical items being made from other person’s discarded things.

The idea of “waste not, want not” has been a big part of my creative endeavors.

My objective in writing this article is to inspire people and help them look at everything in a different way. I want to create a spark that will make you want to use something different, look at the unwanted or discarded in a different light, and to fall in love with making jewelry that will amuse and delight.

I like to work on several different pieces at one time. As I work and see how designs are developing, I get ideas for improving or expanding on another idea.

DEVELOPING THE NECKLACE BASE

My first step in designing a necklace is to establish a base. I need to decide whether to create the entire base from scratch such as using individual beads, connecting pieces, hardware, etc. or whether to use a premade base such as wire, cording, chain, ribbons, an old necklace, etc. or to use both in combination. This is a very important step from which the rest of the piece evolves. I like to decide the length and visualize how to place the junk charms.

Once the base has been established, the fun begins. I quickly lay out pieces around the base to decide a color theme. My necklaces generally have one or two colors with an accent color, but attractive pieces can be made using multiple color combinations.

Right: Original Design Layout

The Necklace in Progress

Sometimes as I begin the construction I run into unplanned difficulties; as was the case with this necklace. The pop tab charms did not lie between the spirals of the book binding edge and the snake chain base allowed everything to slide around. At this point I had to decide whether to work with this ‘problem’ or figure out a different method to construct the piece. My decision was to use the cluster appearance because it allowed quick and easy construction. Also, should I tire of the necklace, deconstruction and reuse of the pieces and base would be easy.