One thing I did by coincidence on Earth Day was celebrate the middle "R" of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. I have to admit that the first and most important "Reduce" is often not as fun as my favorite "REUSE."
I was working on a project on my bench - a client came to me with pieces from her jewelry box she no longer wore. We sat down with the pieces and reimagined them in a way she could use them and WANT to wear them again. The most important pieces were three sets of silver earrings her mother had made in a rudimentary jewelry class. (Her mother is in assisted care now.)
Keeping the spirit of the earrings, some were polished, others got more modern earwires. One pair were simple triangles, and by cutting out a few new triangular shapes in the metal to hold new earwires and by adding gemstones, they ended up looking spiffed up and ready to wear with some tricks up their sleeves.
She'll be by to pick them up this week. Can there be a better feeling in you heart than reusing something?
Loretta
