I'm a lemons-into-lemonade kind of jewelry designer. When something isn't working, I try to figure out why and fix it. I hate to waste materials, time, effort, and money. It makes me happy to give something a second life and avoid the landfill. (This is why I so enjoyed participating in the upcycled art show a couple of years ago.)
Given that it's summer and we're now having temperatures in the 90s (and even 100s, unbelievably!) I thought it would be a good time to share my latest lemonade recipe.
The Lemons
Last year I bought these stainless steel bezels with leverback ear wires attached. I engraved some cherry wood with words and attached them to the bezels. I was so happy with these! I liked switching up the earring type (leverbacks instead of the hooks I normally use) and the metal (steel instead of my usual sterling silver). I couldn't wait to offer them for sale.
But when I was photographing them, one of the hinged backs just snapped off in my hand. Weird, I thought. This metal seems way too thin and flimsy to be steel.
So I went back and looked at the shop where I'd bought the findings and sure enough in the long description (which I obviously did not read thoroughly) it said that the metal was actually the color, not the material. Huh? So these findings were stainless steel ... in color only.
I was upset, but mainly with myself for not catching that detail before I bought them. As a general rule, I try to stay away from plated ear wires, as they're the part of earrings that get handled the most, so they need to be tough. Hinged items (anything with moving parts) are also more susceptible to breakage in general.
Luckily I'd only purchased a package of five pairs so I wasn't out too much money. I was still irritated though. I had five pairs of cute earrings that I couldn't sell because I knew they would break after a couple of uses. I wasn't comfortable giving them way either. I couldn't throw them away for the irrational reason that they were brand new. (Tossing them would feel like taking a ten dollar bill and setting it on fire.)
But what to do? I tucked them away and hoped that at some point I'd figure out what to do with them.
The Lemonade
A year later I discovered that these old earrings (with the hinged ear wire snapped off) fit neatly into my new larger bezels. I'd been experimenting with embedding objects into cement and decided to make a few jewelry pieces.
For me, cement symbolizes a sense of permanence. There's a weightiness to it, as well as a tough, industrial feel. (Note: The finished pieces are weighty in look, but not in the literal sense. The finished pendant/earrings each weigh .1 ounce, the same as the weight of a U.S. quarter.) I looked through my word earrings and found three pairs where this symbolism fit well: read and write, teach and inspire, write and edit. For the read/write/edit, there's the sense of permanence that writers seek with their words when they publish. For teaching, the symbolism of permanence made me think of the old adage that you can never tell where a teacher's influence will reach. Most people have at least one teacher that they remember years (or even decades) after they've left school.
I ended up making two pairs of earrings and two necklaces with three pairs of earrings. I like the double bezel look with the bit of silver frame around the wood and then the second one around the cement. I kept the Read necklace for myself as the cement finish was a bit rougher than the others. (I'd fussed with that one after placing the wood piece inside. Lesson learned -- stop fussing!)
I'm happy that I was able to make a few glasses of lemonade out of these latest lemons. These one-of-a-kind (ooak) jewelry designs are all available in my Etsy shop:
Cheers!