Hohoho From Broken Teacup To Treasured Necklace: Novel Beginnings

Amid the stacked boxes large as well as small, strewn throughout my workshop, are dishes from all roughly the basis as well as from all unlike periods inward time. I’ve carried these boxes alongside me when I’ve moved, finding, or making, infinite for them—stacking them, tripping over them, organizing as well as rearranging them, earthworks through them to uncovering a for certain detail plate I’m looking for, as well as occasionally I fifty-fifty acquire through them as well as launder the dishes! And I volition never forget the kickoff time, agency dorsum years as well as years ago, correct when I started making jewelry out of sometime broken china, when i solar daytime I was browsing within a large consignment store as well as came upon a display of huge racks all stuffed alongside dishes.

Reverse side

I was shortly to acquire that the display was total of replacement dinnerware. I looked for pieces that were cheap as well as maybe chipped or had some damage, but most all of the pieces displayed looked to go inward skillful condition. I industrial plant life a small-scale reddish English linguistic communication transferware saucer, picked it upward as well as roughshod inward honey alongside it, as well as stood at that topographic point looking at it wondering if I should purchase it merely for the sake of using it inward my abode somehow, because it wasn’t inward miserable plenty status to suspension to usage for jewelry… as well as and thus I noticed a middle-age human being on the other side of the display, straightening the dishes. He saw me as well as asked if I needed assist finding anything, if at that topographic point was whatever detail china pattern I was looking for. I explained to him that I made jewelry from sometime broken china, as well as that I was looking for imperfect pieces to usage inward my artwork.

“Oh,” he said, “Don’t purchase that one. I conduct keep many others that are damaged...” I shortly learned that the display belonged to him, as well as that his trouble concern was replacement dinnerware pieces. He collected as well as sold sometime china pieces for people who unfortunately broke pieces of their ain china sets. We spoke for a few minutes as well as I shortly learned that he had a large trouble concern exterior of this "small" consignment store display—a whole warehouse total of replacement china dinnerware—and he invited me at that topographic point to acquire through all of his imperfect pieces of sometime china. What happenstance. The planets aligned for me that day, as well as shortly this college daughter alongside large ideas was driving her footling Mazda downwards a dry reason route looking for his address.

Prepping for soldering 

It was a cramped warehouse, as well as the human being explained that they would shortly go packing upward as well as moving to a larger industrial warehouse nearby. I was shocked yesteryear all the dishes. Row upon row of ceiling-high shelves, all stacked alongside sometime china. The human being led me to the nurture of the warehouse, as well as directed me out as well as roughly back, where at that topographic point were piles of large boxes, all filled alongside plates as well as dishes that had chips as well as cracks as well as imperfections. He told me to conduct keep a await as well as regard if I wanted anything, as well as that he would go working inward the warehouse, as well as when I was finished he would laissez passer on me a price. 

Finishing upward soldering 

I recall that solar daytime thus well. I was young, a college student, scraping yesteryear to alive inward my ain apartment, making as well as selling stained glass, mosaics, as well as jewelry to pay the rent as well as pay my ain agency through college. I didn’t conduct keep a lot of money. I mean value I had most $300 to my advert that day, as well as that’s what I had inward my pocket. To me, that was a large amount of money. But I knew this chance was larger. This was the chance that I needed, thus I had to go prepared inward illustration I needed to pass a footling bit. So I brought everything that I had.

Finishing upward soldering 

I started earthworks through the dishes. I was amazed. There was every type of china slice y'all could imagine, inward what seemed similar whatever as well as every pattern. There was antique High German porcelain, vintage American dime store dinnerware, antique English linguistic communication transferware, vintage English linguistic communication chintz china, pottery, fine os china, porcelain, inward all shapes, sizes, colors, as well as motifs.

Selecting coordinating beads

There was merely thus much that I could use, that I didn’t know what to do! With each plate that I picked upward I envisioned the cast as well as mode of the slice of jewelry that I could perhaps brand from it. So I merely started stuffing empty Xerox boxes alongside everything I wanted, figuring if his cost was besides high at the end, I could ever pose some back. By the fourth dimension I was finished, I mean value I had 12 Xerox cardboard boxes stuffed to the brim alongside dishes. He shortly came out to regard what I had chosen, casually glanced over at my pile of boxes as well as said $75 would create it. !!! :o

Selecting coordinating beads

I recall that drive abode from his warehouse every bit clear every bit if it were merely yesterday. It was similar I had won the lottery on Christmas day. I made 12 trips upward as well as downwards my iii flights of stairs to my apartment, emptying the extremely heavy boxes of dishes out of my car. When the boxes were lined upward all the agency across my living room floor, I merely stood at that topographic point as well as looked at them, amazed.

Little did I imagine that I would nevertheless go using a non bad bargain of those really same plates to brand jewelry almost twenty years later. The teacup inward the photos on this page was i of those damaged pieces of china that I carried abode from that warehouse on that day. It doesn’t await similar a teacup now, as well as I didn’t mean value to acquire a photograph of it earlier it completely roughshod apart as well as earlier I shaped it into the rectangular-ish cast y'all regard on this page, but when I saw it I thought it was i of the prettiest china patterns that I conduct keep ever seen—and I alone had i similar it—so I stashed away inward a small, shoe box-sized box where I kept particular pieces, figuring that i solar daytime I would plough those particular broken pieces into really particular pieces of jewelry.

And as well as thus today happened. I chose this piece, as well as I decided it was fourth dimension for her to conduct keep a novel life. She traveled alongside me all those years, through a xv twelvemonth marriage! Two kids! Moving twice… no, iii times! She sat inward a box inward the corner, or nether a table, for years every bit fourth dimension went by, every bit I taught myself, every bit I perfected techniques as well as learned novel skills, every bit I sold on eBay, as well as thus on Etsy, every bit I got a mass bargain to write a jewelry projection book, as well as and thus a second, as well as thus a contract as well as a bird ticket to celluloid workshop DVDs, as well as through calls for interviews from Crafts Report, Country Living as well as Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist Magazines. Wow.

So hither she is now. Look her beauty. But non merely that, mean value most her life, imagine what she did, where she was, for years as well as years as well as years earlier she met me. Maybe y'all volition come across her next.

visit my Etsy store to regard all of my china jewelry

What create y'all think? 

Have a non bad week!

 Laura

My broken china jewelry is ever available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Check out my novel jewelry teaching books as well as DVDs

Article as well as images copyright ©Laura Beth Love for ™ 2018 all rights reserved