Who needs to keep their cubicle stocked with analog paraphernalia now that we’ve all moved to paperless offices? Well, if you’re Margarita Mileva, obsolete office supplies make the perfect components for vibrant jewelry, such as twisty necklaces made from multicolored rubber bands, chokers pieced together from wire binding, and pendants fashioned from circular paper clips.
The Gun Reclamation Project takes its philosophy of beating swords into plowshares seriously. The collection of baubles by B-Side Jewelry pillages firearms for parts (triggers, firing pins, recoil lugs) and recasts them as symbols of nonviolence. Launching tonight at a fundraising event for the New York City Gun Buy-Back Program, the collection of rehabilitated accessories will do more than reduce the number of guns on the streets: a portion of proceeds will go towards efforts to make Gotham a safer place to live in.
[Via Daily Candy]
Philadelphia-based design duo Something’s Hiding in Here uses reclaimed wood and other eco-friendly materials to make funky accessories that are fun to wear and reasonably priced. These chunky hand-shaped wood gems are just the right combination of edgy and homegrown, not to mention we love wearing anything that features the subtle and organic patterns wood grain naturally provides.
If there’s one thing that designer Dandi Maestre knows, it’s that you can’t tame nature, so why bother? The former graphic designer plunders Gaia’s backyard for treasures-in-the-rough and crafts them into oversized sartorial statements: shed antlers become an avant-garde necklace, reclaimed driftwood transforms into a chunky cuff, and dyed exotic nuts are carved into psychedelic rings.
One of the secrets to making upcycled accessories really shine is to infuse them with special little quirks that make people smile. Designer Jen McGlashan does just that with McFlashpants, a line of jewelry made from vintage cutlery. From the fork-a-riffic Not So Stabby choker to necklaces topped with wee sprouts, you won’t find anything like McFlashpants at your local big-box shop. …
It was love at first sight for us when we laid our eyes on designer and friend Tara St. James’ “fasten-ating” accessories upcycled from broken zippers, and we’re thrilled to be able to give away two of our favorite pieces to one lucky Ecouterre reader! St. James has put together a special set that includes her elegant single zipper necklace and rocker-chic zipper …
Blow-up dolls aren’t the only faux folk getting hacked to bits, both literally and metaphorically. Artist Margaux Lange mines pre-owned Barbie dolls for body parts that she turns into sardonic—and more than a little creepy—statement jewelry. From brooches made from multiple, multiethnic Barbie limbs (a celebration of diversity?) to heart-shaped necklaces showcasing some of Barbie’s naughtier portions, upcycled jewelry doesn’t get any more fun than this.
You wear your heart on your sleeve, and you just happen to love your Mac, so why not express yourself with these blingtastic rings and necklaces made from upcycled laptop computer keys? Crafted by metalsmith Lauren Anabela Beaudoin, founder of Creative Dexterity, this line of upcycled jewelry is sure to win the heart of any self-professed Mac addict.
Australian designer Liana Kabel’s career trajectory should have come as a surprise to no one. The product of a jeweler father and a Tupperware Lady mother, Kabel quickly found herself drawn to wearable plastic with a retro edge, including baubles fashioned from vintage knitting needles. A faux tortoiseshell …
Photo by Kim Knox Beckius
No, we’re not snowing you. A zoo in Bloomington, Ill., is hawking the ultimate gift for the person who has everything: Necklaces made from “magical reindeer gems.” Or to put it less genteelly, reindeer poop, which zoo elves dehydrated, sanitized, drilled, and painted to create pendants shaped like miniature snowmen—complete with jaunty top hats! Sold out as of Sunday, …
If you have feline friends to feed, chances are, you amass quite a few empty cat-food tins at the end of the day (I have three cats, so when I say “quite a few,” I actually mean “a ginormous pile”). While recycling these cans the old-fashioned way is certainly laudable, why not use this free metal to your advantage by upcycling it into some shiny new jewelry for yourself? Heaven knows you deserve it for being such a devoted cat parent. Just follow our simple instructions to make this cute ring in the shape of a cat or any other design you think is the cat’s meow.
Have last year’s Christmas lights been sapped dry of their holiday cheer? Don’t send them on their merry way to the landfill just yet. The perfect size for hanging from your ears or neck, these tiny lights can still shine with the addition of jewelry findings and some creative flair. Here, we show you how you can create your own holiday-themed accessories—for next to nothing—simply by seeing damaged goods in a whole new light.
No matter how evolved we think we are, there’s nothing like something shiny to send our reptilian hindbrains into paroxysms of glee. All that glitters may not be gold, but for the silver belles in your life, here are seven sustainable jewelry gifts guaranteed to bring out the festive spirit.
Industrial designers have always valued steel for its strength and durability. Surprisingly, this venerable material is also quite eco-friendly, an added bonus that makes it the ideal choice for containers, automobiles, support beams, bridges, and even delicate, modern jewelry. For Laura Su, founder and designer of Prismera, finding a material for her sustainable line of jewelry was a challenge until she stumbled upon steel, the most recycled material in the world—more so than paper, glass, and aluminum combined, according to the Steel Recycling Institute.
As far as stocking-bound lumps of coal go, Sort of Coal’s binchotan (that’s Japanese for “white coal”) bracelet is more nice than naughty, even if you don’t buy into the New Agey hokum that some folks are touting. The blackened beads, which cut a classic, chic figure, are derived from sustainably harvested branches from the mountaintops of Japan and Korea, which are then smoked in traditional kilns using high temperatures and limited oxygen.
Jewelry designer Maria Cristina Bellucci knows that sometimes you need to break some rules and color outside the lines. A theater costumer designer in a former life, Bellucci now dedicates herself to the craft of contemporary jewelry, including a remarkable collection of accessories derived from sliced-and-diced color pencils.
You can memorialize a dearly departed pet in several different ways, but few allow you to keep Mr. Fluffypants as close to your heart as these wearable gems, which are created using the carbon captured from his remains. Not one but several companies are offering grieving pet owners the opportunity to immortalize their animal companions as jewelry. Despite the morbid undertones, it’s a trend that’s rapidly gaining popularity in Japan. But here’s the rub: The portable memorials might be better for the planet, too.
Maybe it’s a holdover from playing with dolls, but our love for miniatures remains as fierce as the look on Tracey Yee’s face when she caught us giving her Barbies impromptu haircuts. (Ken survived unscathed due to his less-than-tangible follicles.) Less is also more for Philadelphia-based designer Margaux Kent, who decided to downsize her handmade, antique-leather-bound journals to create minuscule tomes you can wear around your neck.
For Australian silversmith Polly van der Glas, diamonds aren’t a girl’s best friend; she prefers to raid the Tooth Fairy’s war chest for dendrites in the rough, which she sterilizes and then hand-sets in sterling silver. From solid canine-encrusted signet rings to delicate molar-embellished earrings, these toothy trinkets are a quirky take on recycled jewelry—and our idea of luxury gems. So what do you think? Champing at …
