Frugal Friday

I make jewelry. Years ago I did it to make extra money. At one point my jewelry was in 17 stores in 3 states; and I attended 8-10 craft shows a year. I made money but it wasn't fun. Anyone who has done the craft show circuit will back me up when I say there is no greater hell than spending 16 hours setting up, manning and breaking down a show booth and having no sales to show for it. Those perfect shows, where the weather is right and your buyers show up in droves are few and far apart. The stores had their own special set of challenges, most especially poor record keeping.

These days I make jewelry for myself and to give as gifts.  I especially enjoy taking apart old jewelry and reinventing it into something modern. It's a frugal way to give myself a present while only spending time.

Case in point is these necklace. The clasp came off a ugly, broken cast-off, the jet beads are from a necklace that was my grandmothers, I purchased the 3 lampworked beads from their maker, Kate Fowl, who I studied glass bead with, the rest of the beads are various cast-off, and leftovers from other projects. And if in a few years this necklace no longer suits me, then I'll take it apart and design something else.