Upcycling has been something of a fashion in some circles for a while, but what is it? On the face of it upcycling is simply making one new item out of one or more old items, and when it comes to jewellery this opens some really exciting prospects.
Upcycled jewellery ranges from that made by salvaging older unwanted or broken items of jewellery, such as these examples from one of my current favourites The Upcycle Jewellery Company:
But it often goes further – some of the most interesting pieces of upcycling we have seen are when jewellery is created from items that didn’t start out as jewellery:
This makes me smile because I had one of these at school…I would definitely get more use out of it as a piece of jewellery
…and if you’ve ever wondered what to do with those old keys you have loitering you definitely need to look at the Upcycle Jewellery Co website for inspiration!
These fabulous earrings by Urban Raven, who has some really creative uses for what some might think of as junk, are made from old Israeli telephone tokens:
We also love her use of stamps, what a great way to make a unique and personalised piece of jewellery!
As a bit of a button fiend myself I was delighted to find Button Jewellery with their delicate yet eyecatching approach to jewellery
Including a fab way to #bringbackthebrooch:
From the maker of the above also comes Unexpected Boutique with some serious statement necklaces!
Whilst these pieces look great they also are almost always pretty unique; even if you’re buying something from a maker who regularly makes the same or similar items they are ALWAYS going to be just a little bit different from the next piece, as is the joy of upcycling. It’s also such a great way to remember that your junk can become something beautiful too, so maybe think on before you chuck it away!
We always love to hear from makers of unusual and upcycled pieces, do get in touch if you would like to feature on the blog!
