What is Metamorphosis? It's a jewellery project where I turn your old silver or gold jewellery into something new at no charge (unless you want a material that you don't currently have)! You give me ideas of what you like, and then I surprise you with one of them of my choice! Swipe to see the last few metamorphosis' I've created.
I'm taking 2 volunteers for the fall. You must live in the lower mainland and be able to travel to my New Westminster studio. Application deadline is this coming Monday the 19th!
Interested? Please get in touch!
How about a Pearl jewellery makeover?
My friend Livian wanted to breath new life into her old pearl jewellery and since I love a good jewellery makeover, I couldn’t resist!
I swapped Livian's yellow gold for white and added some cubics and voila, something new and much more her style! And now to make something with a beautiful light purple amethyst she left me!
Need a mortgage broker? My friend Livian was voted one of the best Mortgage Brokers in the Tri-Cities! Get in touch with her at her website here.
PS- please excuse the sub par before photo on the right. I seem to be really good at deleting photos I need right before I delete them. So I used what I had on hand!
Metamorphosis 37: Redo - Charm Earrings
Gold hoops with interchangeable charms
Ella’s hematite ring was metamorphosis 17! Since then, styles have changed and it was time to turn that ring into something else!
She mentioned she wanted some earrings and this idea immediately popped into my head. I used the small hematites from her ring and the silver to make the settings. I decided to add some moonstone charms as well so she could change them for a day/night look! As for the gold earrings, I traded her silver for what the gold earrings cost me. I don’t make this style hoop in small sizes as they are a lot of work and much cheaper to buy pre-made (because they’re usually machine-made).
As I mentioned in my earlier post, the point of Metamorphosis Redo is to show people that I don’t mind melting down things I’ve made in the past. Sometimes people are nervous to ask me to melt things that are outdated. Please don’t ever be nervous! Styles change and I am always happy to melt things down!
Metamorphosis 35: White gold, moonstone, and mother of pearl ring
Kat came all the way from Seattle to be part of this project! She left me her old grad ring that she never wore and trusted me to turn it into something new!
Kat was super organized in regards to sending me information of what she liked and didn’t like. I always love when people have visual references of their preferences because sometimes things get lost in translation or my idea of something is different than theirs!'
To make Kat’s ring, I melted down her white gold ring (see photo of it below) and made a plain band. I picked moonstone and mother of pearl for her ring because they are alternate birthstones to hers (pearl/alexandrite). Her grad ring had an alexandrite but I didn’t want to repurpose it. I made the settings for the stone and then soldered them to the band. After the ring was cleaned up and polished, I set the stones with the middle piece still between the settings. Cutting it out before I set the stones would make the stones harder to set since the band would be weaker once cut. After the middle piece was cut out, I gave the ring one more polish and voila!
Metamorphosis 34: Yellow gold and diamond cluster ring
This Metamorphosis found it’s way to Greece for my sister-in-law Vicki! She left me all of her old jewellery (see photo below) that last time she came to Vancouver and told me to surprise her with a ring. She sent me several photos of styles she liked and I picked a style I hadn’t quite made yet!
To make this ring, I started by taking out all of the stones from her old jewellery and melting down the gold. I traded most of her white gold for yellow gold, which I then turned into a 4mm band. Once the band was shaped, I use the leftover gold strip to melt “blobs” all over the top of the ring. Then I created seats on the blobs and soldered the settings to those seats. After that, stones were set, ring was polished, and voila! From Vancouver to Greece with love!
METAMORPHOSIS NEWS
The draw to metamorphosis has always been that someone can get a custom piece of jewellery for a reduced price. Over the years I’ve had to raise the price to cover the cost of tools and specialists I work with (casting/stone setting). The reality is, that the more I have to raise the price, the more people lose interest. Metamorphosis is a creative outlet for me and I’d like to keep doing it which means I have to rethink the project in general and how I can make it better for everyone.
That being said, instead of offering 6 spots for the year, I have decided to change my metamorphosis offerings: I will have three types of metamorphosis available to you!
First, there will be two FREE metamorphosis. Details below.
Second, I will still offer metamorphosis for people who want to turn their old jewellery into something new. Details below.
Third, one of the first things people say when interested in metamorphosis is “I don’t have enough materials”. This got me to thinking, how can I include people who don’t hoard old jewellery? I decided I would offer a version of metamorphosis where I supply the materials! Details below.
Metamorphosis offerings:
Metamorphosis - FREE and your materials (must be a referral - application process) - Click here for more info.
Metamorphosis 100 - $100 fee and your materials (must be a referral) - Click here for more info.
Metamorphosis: Sterling Silver - $150 fee and my materials (anyone can sign up) - Click here for more info.
Here are the basic details for all:
There is an initial interview where we discuss your likes and dislikes.
It takes 6 to 8 weeks to make jewellery
Your jewellery will be posted on social media
Questions? Don’t hesitate to ask!
METAMORPHOSIS 30: White gold and diamond stackable rings
Stackable White Gold and Diamond Rings
These rings may seem simple but let me tell you, when there are infinite possibilities in stackable ring designs, it’s hard to pick just a couple!
I started by swapping Shannon’s yellow gold for white gold since she prefers white and didn’t have enough. I was able to use one of the pre-existing settings (princess cut - square centre stone) from a pendant she had for the thinner ring. Once both bands were made and I soldered the princess setting to the thinner ring, I sent them off to the stone setter!
With all the materials Shannon had left over she actually ordered a third ring which will balance the other two rings nicely. I’ll post a photo of it when it’s done!
Before photo of Shannon’s jewellery
METAMORPHOSIS 2019
Who’s ready for year 4 of metamorphosis?! YEAR 4! I’m so flattered and happy that you guys love this project (or are crazy) enough to keep volunteering so that I can keep doing it. Thanks to all of you, I get to be creative and create custom jewellery at a fraction of the price.
Interested in participating? Here are the details:
You MUST be a referral (friend of a friend of a friend is fine)
$100 required upfront
You supply the materials (unless I design something that needs something you don’t have in which I will supply the materials)
I will take your likes/dislikes into consideration but will make something of my choice
Turnaround is 6 to 8 weeks
Whatever I make you and it’s details will be posted on my social media
To apply, please send me photos of the jewellery you would like to use for this project and photos of jewellery you would like to acquire.
Questions? Don’t hesitate to ask!
METAMORPHOSIS 15: INTRO
Volunteer: Aleksandra T.
Profession: Teacher
Likes: Blues, greens, purples, vintage jewellery, hearts, bangles, beach-themed, flowers, liked Metamorphosis 7 & 8 (July and August)
Dislikes: geometric patterns, brooches, hammered metal, opals, alternate birthstones
According to Aleksandra, her friends call her style "old lady chic". As we were talking, I kept thinking to myself, "Vogue": which is essentially old lady chic/Anna Wintour. So, what do I make her? Everything she gave me is gold, predominantly yellow gold. She prefers white gold....but I think I might take a risk and make her something in yellow gold...
METAMORPHOSIS: APRIL REVEAL
Arrowhead Stud Earrings
I chose to make Tracie a pair of arrowhead studs because they seemed like a practical piece of jewellery she could wear straight through from her meetings, to her workouts, to being a mom, etc. Arrowheads symbolize strength and I figured if she was only going to wear one piece of jewellery during the day, I might as well make something practical and symbolic.
METAMORPHOSIS: APRIL INTRO
Volunteer: Tracie D.
Profession: Film Photographer
Likes: Cool colours (blues, greens, etc), earrings, necklaces
Dislikes: Earthy colours (reds, oranges, etc)
I know exactly what I’m going to make Tracie! Or so, I think I do. Once I start melting these rings who knows what might happen. But unlike other months, as soon as I met Tracie and saw these rings, an idea popped into my head.
METAMORPHOSIS; MARCH REVEAL
Amethyst Pendant
I haven’t slept in two days. True story. I’ve been so nervous.
When I started playing around with what Stef gave me, I kept going back to the idea of making a pendant. When I finished it, I realized that I made something that encompassed details she didn’t want. She said she liked big but simple or metalwork with no stones. I made her big, metalwork, and with stone.
I really wanted to make a Moroccan-style/Game of Thromes pendant and Stef had the right materials to do that! The pieces just kind of came together for this pendant where as I struggled with every other design I came up with for her.
METAMORPHOSIS: FEBRUARY INTRO
Volunteer: Amrita G.
Profession: Philanthrophy Services @ Vancity
Likes: most types of jewellery, unique designs
Dislikes: Anything that looks to perfect or clean, yellow, big hoop earrings
Amrita likes jewellery. She has a lot of it and wears a lot of it together. My challenge this month will be to make her something unlike anything she has. Mind you, I think she has an endless jewellery box so it’s likely I’ll make her something she already has. On the plus side, her tastes are diverse which means I can get a little bolder in my design.