I'm a jewelry maker, but I'm also a jewelry deconstructor.
(That's not a word, but I'm sticking with it.)
See, I'll make a piece.
I'll list the piece.
I'll show the piece.
If it doesn't sell within 2 years, I'll consider breaking the piece down
and reusing the materials in new jewelry.
See that cone shaped thing above?
That was a ring from a body of work made over 10 years ago.
I needed some 18k gold wire.
I priced that needed 18k gold wire in today's market
and
nearly fell on the floor.
Gold is expensive.....darn tooting expensive.
Enter the cone ring.
I snipped off the shank and milled it down to 18 gauge wire.
Problem solved.
I have a drawer of dedicated, retired jewelry.
Some are failures,
some are old works,
some are unsellable.
All will become something new and wonderful, eventually.
Posts
That's the way to do it! And it must be fun to reinvent something that you've been staring at for a couple years!
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is.... even more fun to take really ugly jewelry and melt it into a blob of metal :)
DeleteUsed to do this at the shop as well. It's fun re-working something that's a sure dud. And when it sells, even better, because the costs have been absorbed long ago. Hoorah!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that others are doing the same. In this economy, it's what smart business owners do!
DeleteOhhh, I'd love to dig around in that drawer of retired jewelry! How fun that would be!
ReplyDeleteFunny you say that Alice... I would go bananas looking at the odd-ball pieces that my instructor collected over the years. He couldn't see what was so amazing!
DeleteExactly what I am doing . Re-purposing a sterling silver necklace that didn't go over so well.
ReplyDeletePerfect! That's the beauty of precious metals.
DeleteI do that all the time and I always felt so guilty about it, like a dirty little secret. I'm glad to know I'm not alone!
ReplyDeleteJudy... I wanted to name this post "My Dirty Little Secret", but it seemed to salacious for a metalsmithing blog :)
DeleteThat is one thing I love about metal work...you can salvage the stone and melt down the metal and start all over again! No waste!...well cept for the time you'd initially spent....lol
ReplyDeleteBeing creative is always a great thing, you can reuse things you've already made!
ReplyDelete