Collaborative Earring Project with Industrial Grace Restoration

My friend Becky of Industrial Grace Restoration & I are collaborating on an earring project inspired by my Twins! Collection. Perfectly mismatched. We both like to work with found, salvaged, rescued and restored materials and both enjoy each other's work. Be sure to check out her blog and her facebook.

This was Becky's brilliant idea, she asked me if I'd be interested in a collaborative project like this and a few months later, I opened the mailbox to the tiniest, hand crafted box (from recycled materials of course! She had packed into it 12 single earrings, each very different from the other. Included was a sweet note with the instructions: to make a pair for each earring, keep 6 pairs for myself, send the other pairs back and send some new single earrings for her to make pairs.

How fun! It has taken me several more months to get back to my studio and supplies. I finally have the studio dug out and this is the first project I am working on.

Sweet note, tiny box and Becky's earring contributions

Becky's creative earring contributions, repurposed and salvaged materials galore (love it!) 

Round 1 of pulling beads and playing around with pairings. I love this part of the design process. 

After a couple of days of work here is my first batch of finished earring pairs.

  

   Some of the finished pairs, Becky's earrings are on the left and mine on the right of each pair. 

All 12 pairs finished! What a colorful collection full of interesting textures and spatial plays. Lots of rescued, repurposed, salvaged and some new materials too! Becky's creations are at the left of each pair and mine are to the right. 

YazBerry Jewelry Collection: Urban Vintage

The Urban Vintage Collection is the modern mash-up of my earth loving, recycling fanatic self and my vintage loving, fashionista self. It features found objects, metal components with yummy patina and verdigris, salvaged vintage elements from discarded clothing and jewelry, carefully paired with new findings and elements. Reduce, reuse, recycle, fashion. Raw, modern, edgy, industrial, yet elegant and sophisticated. Urban vintage may sound like it contradicts itself but it's that contradiction that makes its beauty. Many pieces have sold but some are still available on my facebook page and on my Etsy shop. Loving this look but not seeing quite what you desire? Fear not, you can contact me and share your ideas and I can create a custom piece for you.

Painting Props in the Studio

I bought my most FAVORITE color combo of the moment- twilight blue and icy aqua. Or per the paint chip names: "Twilight" and "Jamaican Aqua". And now I am scooping up useful wooden objects right and left and turning them into display components in my little shop at home. Some are for traveling too.

My first expedition into painting was the motivation to buy these colors - a new sign for fairs (and currently hanging in the little shop too). My husband built it and it is made from primitive antique fence posts and clapboard plus one piece of wood with great rusty nail heads I found on the beach.

And here it is in action at the Puffin Festival in Elliston, NL:

Next I ended up at an auction in Trinity, NL and found this wonderful, discarded, handcrafted suitcase in need of some TLC. I sanded it, cleaned off the rust, replaced the broken hinges and then meticulously painted...for days. Once dry, I sanded some more to get the distressed look I wanted. I am still working on it to convert it into a traveling display; adding a 3rd panel, components to hang jewelry from and if really ambitious, wheels and a telescopic handle (wish list).

BEFORE:

AFTER:

And then I found this odd handmade pedestal at a thrift shop. It needed gluing. So I glued, sanded and painted it ombre. It can be flipped over too so either the light or dark can be the top. Inspired by the stairs in my friend Crystal's new studio, Little Free Radical.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

In action in the little shop with my new necklace displays and a mirror I also painted (another thrift shop score)...addicted to these colors right now!

YazBerry Spring Candle Holders - Right on Trend



Star Tribune

Periodically I get important phone calls from my dad about newsworthy info of which I may be interested. This article was one of those calls. Found last week in the Star Tribune Variety section, a DIY on candle holders made from salvaged furniture springs. The full article can be viewed online here.

Just a couple weeks before I made some YazBerry salvaged spring candle holders. Mine feature very heavy springs and thick teal blue salvaged antique telephone wire insulators as the candle holder. I agree with Designer Kim Yeager of Lark Nest Designs, they can double as bud vases!

YazBerry Fashion Salvaged Spring Candle holders/Vases

Stop in The Local Joint in Northfield, MN to buy a YazBerry Fashion candle holder/vase and save yourself the hunt for the parts as springs aren't as readily available as t

+he article makes them out to be. These springs are the first I've seen in my years of flea marketing.

*Images from the Star Tribune article are copyright their respective owners.