Are you bored of the same old jewelry in your drawer, but you don’t want to spend any money on something new? Then it’s time to make the old new again!

If you are like me, you have plenty of jewelry you’ve collected over the years and it all has some kind of sentimental value. Trinkets from boyfriends, talismans from traveling and gifts from family and friends all bring back great memories (hopefully…or get rid of it, but that’s another blog…). Because there’s an emotional attachment to each piece you’ve retained, it makes them hard to get rid of, but never the piece your reach for to wear in the present.

The key to making something fresh is always to 1. Step away from what you “know” it to be, and 2. Decide the form it will take in the present. Employing the Guiding Principles of De-Centering and the Decision Method aids in the process. De-centering from the known allows new solutions and uses to emerge by looking at the situation from an outside perspective. The Decision Method determines what to do with the form, by determining whether to Accept, Adapt, Alter or Avoid.

For example, I have this fabulous charm bracelet I collected charms for back in my high school and college years. Each charm represents some juicy experience that I remember each time I see the bracelet, and it holds a real market value because it’s made from 14kt gold charms. However, it’s 2017…I haven’t seen a charm bracelet on anyones arm for over 15 years. What’s a girl to do with this type of jewelry?

De-centering, I looked at the charm bracelet, felt it run through my hands, placed it up against my shirt and looked in the mirror as an observer. I liked seeing all the charms at the same time on “that girl” as a necklace. Decision Method wise I was sure I wanted to keep it as is, therefore I would Adapt it into a new incarnation. I laid it out on my design table alongside a graduated tourmaline necklace and Voila! I simply clasped them together to make a larger necklace and loved the look of the “new” piece of jewelry I created!

This is just one example of how to Adapt jewelry you already own into something fresh and wearable in the present. I’ll be talking about many more ways to use the Decision Method to evaluate items in your wardrobe in future blog posts, but I’d love to hear from you! Email me at jennifer@stoneangelstudios with questions about what to do with specific pieces or solutions you’ve used for specific items you want to repurpose.
Authentically yours,

Jennifer