Inspiration & Muses

Inherited & Reimagined Abstract Icon

Before & After

A selection of the work — pieces inherited, forgotten, or imagined — that became something entirely new. This is what happens when memories meet making, and voice meets vision.

Bubbie's Story: Before

C.L. had inherited a broken necklace that once graced the neck of her beloved Bubbie. The gorgeous lead crystal teardrop beads, in various sizes, were in a plastic baggie alongside the jeweled clasp that once held this piece together. I had a vintage Sarah Coventry sunburst brooch with a crystal focal and thought the brooch would make a beautiful pendant.

Bubbie's Story: After

The Finished Piece: Sunny Vintage

The foundation of this necklace is Bubbie’s fabulous crystal beads. I added yellow and aquamarine-blue Preciosa crystals to echo the prismatic flashes within the original stones and the faceted cut of the crystal.

I transformed a vintage Sarah Coventry sunburst brooch by removing its original crystal and replacing it with the jeweled clasp of the broken necklace as the new centerpiece.

With a few crystal drops left over, I created a companion pair of earrings using Preciosa crystal and a gold finding salvaged from the original necklace.

Custom Work

A custom piece created for a mom who wanted to gift a piece of jewelry that was meaningful. Her daughter's style was "dark romance," a little goth, a little punk. Her daughter also loved Dracula. Taking a cue from the Victorian era of high manners and mourning romanticism, this necklace features white quartz, hammered pyrite, blood-red Czech glass with etched abstractions, puffed silver beads, star-etched rondelles and Preciosa crystal. The raw white quartz nugget pendant evocative of a shard of ice. Opulent and slightly menacing.