Vintage Treasures

My love of vintage jewelry began as a child. Back in the fifties and early sixties, my mother, and in particular my paternal grandmother, would don beautiful costume jewelry whenever leaving the house for errands, as was the custom for most women back then. My fascination was particular with the rhinestone jewelry they wore. The colorful dazzle of what I considered precious treasures fascinated me and it was always a treat to see them. Of course they fell out of favor later in the 60's and 70's for love beads and more organic materials such as leather and cotton. I mourned the loss of those beautiful vintage pieces and picked up a few here and there when I could but soon lost track of them in favor of the leaner, cleaner look of the jewelry designs since then. Then in my fifties, maybe as I began feeling more nostalgic, I wanted to revisit those lovely objects again and so my search began. Brooches were my favorite since the designs could be so much more intricate and use a variety of materials. They also came in a great array of sizes too and so could accommodate any number of projects, from large or small.

After years of seeking out what I consider to be beautiful and interesting brooches, I amassed quite a large collection to choose from when designing a project. The brooch actually determines the colors and the design. The fibers and embellishments come later and sometimes I have those on hand and other times I have to do some sleuthing to find what I need. It makes it easier for me to get ideas on the actual content of the work when I have a good stock of things to initially begin the search with and can either include or eliminate items and ideas as I go. That is why I have a large collection of beads and fibers, as having them immediately available makes the work progress faster than if I didn't. So actually having the brooches and materials here provides me an endless source of inspiration and I am seldom at a loss for what to do next. As a matter of fact, I have quite a few things in the queue now that I am very excited about.

Often when I look at these alluring pieces I wonder about the amazing women that owned and wore them. Was it a gift from a loved one to her? A piece she loved and saved any extra nickel and dime for? Something she obtained as a result from the loss of a friend or relative? Did the piece travel with her across the United States or even to different parts of the world? So I like to make up stories about the jewelry as well, and that makes them even more personal and valuable to me, and I hope to those that enjoy my work as well.