You can feel the past in precious metal......

Jewelry has a history. It has a past. It has experienced love and hope. It has experienced heartbreak and painful endings.

I often have people asking me if I can make something old into something new. I get it. We have jewelry that once was and now is not. We have jewelry that just sits somewhere dusty.

I appreciate the desire to turn it into something we actually want to wear. But I also appreciate the history of a piece of jewelry. You can feel the past in precious metal, it has an energy. Even the pieces that ended in heartbreak once experienced the energy of great love. And heartbreak also has a painful honest pure energy that is beautiful.

So, I'm mixed about turning our history in jewels into new pieces.......

Here are two pieces of my history in jewels. These are my two earliest memories of jewelry. They were both given to me by my Nana and Grandpa, who lived in Australia. The brooch was the first piece of jewelry I ever got. It is hand engraved. It is not perfect, which makes me love it that much more. The bird necklace is enameled, some of the blue enamel in the middle of the bird has chipped off, but I would never try to fix it because that chip is part of my history.

The Things That Really Matter

I hope that everyone is having a lovely Easter weekend, shared with people that you love.

I am very thoughtful this weekend about the things that really matter. My family and my friends and the deep connections which I share with them are what fuels everything in my life. They are ultimately my inspiration for every piece I create. I create out of love and passion. I have the ability to feel love and passion because of the amazing people who surround me. I feel so honored to be sharing a life time with such beautiful people.

My Carrot & Beet Brooches were inspired by the summers I spent in the garden with my Dad when I was growing up. He would always grow these big amazing vegetable gardens. I loved to help him pick the carrots and pull up the potatoes. Being with him in our backyard garden on a hot summers day is one of my most cherished childhood memories.


Carrot & Beet Brooches
sterling silver, 14k gold, freshwater pearls
Patsy Kay Kolesar 2008