I have been recycling jewelry before it was cool to recycle things!  It started with dressing up dolls from my mom's jewelry box.  Later in life, when I was a fabric mill rep, I saw a 75% off--Going Out of Business sign in Pacific Grove--well who could resist!  I used a bead board and put together a great necklace that got lots of attention and started me with a new hobby, which turned into a business eventually.

My love of clothes dictates new jewelry, so, recycling what I already own frees up some money to buy other accessories for my wardrobe such as hats, gloves, shoes and belts, my other loves.

In these recessionary times most women (me) do not like the idea of not buying jewelry and accessories.  All we need do is look in our drawers and jewelry boxes, see what out-of-style or broken pieces we have and turn them into new baubles that work with our current wardrobe and lifestyle.

In my last workshop, April brought a beautiful rarely worn gray pearl necklace and two bracelets, which had fallen apart.  She took the pearls, incorporated pieces of the broken bracelets and created a beautiful contemporary choker.  She also learned how to repair other pieces of jewelry.

April's mom, Jeannette, took a pink cat's eye bracelet, pieces of a hot pink crystal bracelet, some of JR's pink and gold beads and designed a 20" necklace that looked stunning on her!  Her husband sells jewelry on eBay and she now wants to design some one-of-kind pieces for him to sell!  This is why I think it makes so much sense to recycle your jewelry.  Don't you?
Here are the two redesigned necklaces:


www.jewelryrecycling.biz
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