From this............To this.

Just a quick visual post of how some old broken chain can become transformed into something wearable again.
I love recycling and I love working with old broken jewellery and turning it into something new that can be loved and worn again.

Old broken sterling silver chain.

I had to divvy it up into two equal weights so the earrings would be the same size.

Starting the melting process.

Melting, melting, melting.

Looking good. The chain has liquefied into a red hot silver blob. 

Once cooled the blobs are flattened with the hammer.

The flattened blobs are passed through the rolling mill with some textured paper.

Wire is soldered on the back for the earrings.

Ready to go into the tumbler for a good clean and polish and to harden the metal back up.

Out of the tumbler and the wires are cut down to size.

Cute, hey!

Stamped with the redpeg makers mark and the 925 silver mark.

Butterfly backed and ready to wear.

Once again.
I LOVE my job!!

Opinions Please!!

I got a bit carried away this week photographing some pieces for a lookbook for a market that Im really keen on getting accepted into.
The photos are really just quick snaps taken on my ipad, so probably not the greatest quality but the vision is there. You'll see in a sec......

Im a lover of nature and depicting my pieces in nature has all ways been a thing I've done, taking them out of context, not showing them on the body but in the environment. As sculptures rather than jewellery.

This time I went with the crisp white background and my signature rosehips.
I was really pleased with them, but when I showed hubby he said, "No, its too distracting. You cant photograph jewellery like that".
He is of the sense that jewellery needs to be photographed on its own with just a white or black background.

Maybe he is right in that they are not appropriate for examples of my work to be sent off with my market submission but I reckon they will be good for something else......Maybe posters or a banner for my market stall or for some other form of advertising.......?

So I put it to you dear readers, what do you think???
Do you think its too distracting? Too out of context? Too hard to tell the size of the work? Too arty?
Please let me have it. Either here or on facebook. I'm keen to know your thoughts!

Special things for others.

Since opening the peg and being more accessible to the general public, I've had quite a few odd requests.....
Most recently  I had a lady standing at the door, not wanting to come all the way in and  calling out from where she stood, "have you got a screen?"
"A screen?" I said
"Yes, a screen....... A screen to partition off a room"
"Hmmmh. No, I don't sell screens."

I have an old Bakelite radio that I listen to the conversation hour on every morning that I could of sold 5 times over, and my vintage birdcage prop, I use in the window has garnered heaps of interest too.
"Hey love, what do ya want for the cage?"
I've recently moved the cage and had a lady tell me today she was glad it was gone, she couldnt stand the thought of that poor bird left in there all day................Weird cos I only ever had necklaces hanging in there, never a bird.

But most of all, I've had crazy request in the wearable art field, which are the kind of request I relish. You saw my hair basket in the last post, yeah?  (I made-this-crazy-thing)

I had a  man enquire about a brooch for his wife. He wanted a scene in sterling silver depicted a grey mare satnding on the White Cliffs of Dover  with its mane and tail blowing in the wind....... She had one the same and had lost it and he wanted to surprise her with a replacement.  I loved the idea and was keen to help him out but his ideas were most definite and he wanted basically an exact replica of the one she'd lost, with no room for my artistic interpretation at all. So unfortunately I had to decline that one.

But, I had the most wonderful experience of making a gorgeous brooch with some scrap silver jewellery sent to me by one of my most favourite people.
The post-pack contained an old pair of moonstone earrings  and an old sterling silver spoon and the brief was that she likes the brooches of  Margaret-de-patta.
I got all excited and forgot to take photos of the process and the goings on along the way.
But here is a photo of the finished piece...............

Actually its not quite finished.
You'll notice I haven't sharpened the pin.

This is a kooky one.
A wisdom tooth that the customer wanted a  claw clasp on so she can dangle it from her ear.......

She picked it up yesterday and put it straight on her ear, and it looks great!


I've had loads of restorations and fix-em-ups from Vintage sterling silver pieces to Indian and Afghan silver.
Here is a pic of a few things I spent today working on and fixing.

How gorgeous are these bits and bobs.
All fixed and wearable again, ready to be loved instead of lying broken in an old jewellery box.


Yep! I've got the best job in the world!