Sunday, July 5, 2009

Vintage Jewelry

By Bonnie, of BEB Designs

It seems like the trend towards vintage inspired jewelry is growing hotter and hotter lately. I think a big part of it is the feminine, romantic details seen currently in fashion. Vintage style jewelry compliments this style beautifully. Styles can range from big and bold statement pieces to delicate and feminine.

Vintage inspired jewelry is fun to make. The possibilities are endless. I love to work with natural brass that has an antiqued patina. It looks great with so many colors. There are beautiful filigrees to work with that can be either vintage or new made to look old.

Many new stampings are made from original molds. Vintage lucite beads are great, too, because they come in many colors and finishes. Some are opaque, and some come in moonglow, which has a gorgeous finish.

You can get them in many different shapes and sizes too. There are beautiful unique actual vintage Czech, West German and Japanese glass beads. There are also many beautiful new Czech glass beads that work well with vintage styles.

Another current trend in vintage inspired jewelry design is using brass with a verdigris finish. The green tones and brass are a great combination and the patina gives a unique, old looking finish. Other painted finishes that give a “shabby chic” look in white or pink are also used.

Etsy has a fabulous selection of vintage style jewelry components. You can find just about anything. There are sellers that sell new supplies that look old, and those that are truly vintage.

Reusing parts of old jewelry is another great way to make vintage looking jewelry. It’s fun to take old pieces and cut them apart and use the components in new pieces. Old jewelry can be found at flea markets, estate sales and resale shops.

If you like the look of vintage jewelry, why not try designing some of your own pieces? It could be a fun exercise in creativity or the start of a new obsession.

Featuring artisan handmade creations by the etsy starving artists jewelry team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, that necklace looks great. Thanks for the interesting article.

Cat said...

That was interesting, thanks! I want to go to a fleamarket now. Today there was none in the area :-(

Barb Macy said...

Great info, Bonnie! I'm finding that this style has been popular with a wholestyle client of mine. Not neccessarily the style I'd choose for myself, but it sells really well, looks great, and has a long "shelf life" in a salon setting (where sterling tarnishes quickly, then looks bad). Great article!

Happileerving said...

Great article. I think part of the interest in Vintage is that people view it as a "green" product, recycled and repurposed.

Anonymous said...

Interesting article. I always love your pieces!

Leilani said...

I was looking forward to reading this article. In the past I never gave vintage jewelry making a second look but I want to start combining it with my new love of hunting at second hand shops, antique stores, flea markets & garage sales!! Something for my home and a little something to tinker with. Why not? :)