I looked out the window this morning and saw a few leaves on a neighbor’s maple tree are already Autumn red. My first thought was, “what, already?” But my next thought was that everything passes and cycles keep revolving. This brought me to consider (not for the first time) how heirlooms are passed down through the generations and often never used or worn again and what a tragedy this is.
It doesn’t have to be this way! On the one hand, we can take a chance and use that fine antique tea set even if only rarely, while on the other hand being careful to clean and store it properly. In my own family, my mother has a set of old Syracuse China in the Federal pattern which we use maybe three times a year. It is well loved for its connection to the past, but it doesn’t go in the dishwasher nor is it ever put away wet.
When it comes to clothing and jewelry, things are a bit different. Clothing, because of the organic nature of the materials, is particularly fragile when it comes to aging. Moreover, one can’t depend on familial relations to assure that grandma’s 1950′s garden party sundress (with the really cool tulle petticoat) will even fit. Even if it does fit, is it your style? (Personally, I see no reason to ever wear a skirt with an appliquéd poodle on it, but that’s just me.) Similarly for old jewelry; it may be broken or not to your fancy, or it may be desired by several family members. Or perhaps you made a purchase of a piece whose siren call was just too much for you.
Most articles of clothing, while they can be recut and restyled, probably aren’t going to be easily made into more than one new piece. But if it’s very worn, at least you can salvage some cloth and use it in quilting, doll making, doll clothing, appliqué work, and more as your imagination reveals. I’ve bought antique and vintage clothing to wear as is which worked because I could easily do some small seam repair. I have one vintage (it’ll be an antique in less than a decade or so) jacket whose buttons I replaced and I wore so much I wore the elbows out. I’ll probably cover then with some kind of decorative appliqué and wear it again (after I’ve lost a bit of size myself).
Jewelry can be much more problematic partly because of all the attendant emotional conflicts that often arise. Engagement rings are sometimes passed along unchanged, but just as often stones are reset either to account for changes in taste or because the band has been worn almost through or because there are numerous offspring to share the stones. Much less emotionally trying are bracelets and necklaces which can usually be broken apart and completely remade. Earrings and brooches generally pass unchanged from owner to owner but they, too, can be modified or incorporated – transformed – into new works of wearable art.
The steps taken to transform an old piece of jewelry into a new heirloom are occasionally complex but also occasionally simple. This depends on the nature of the pre-existing piece and the parameters of the new Piece or pieces to be created. The simplest transformation is taking single beads or charms from a bracelet or necklace and creating a separate necklace or bracelet for each sister and cousin. A necklace with many components can be remade into earrings and a bracelet (or a simpler necklace) or a brooch. Sometimes, it’s necessary to add components. In one case, I transformed a plain silver colored necklace of three leaves connected by simple folded bands of metal and draped around the neck with a chain into a work of art with many colored rhinestones placed one by one in the leaves, connectors of semi-precious faceted aventurine beads and Swarovski crystal bicones linking the leaves and a hand crafted bead woven cord of many tiny seed beads in complimenting colors.
On my Transform page you can see some other examples, including a necklace of netting made of bugle beads featuring a transformed vintage rhinestone brooch as the centerpiece.
One of my clients has even suggested taking the beads, jewels and sequins from an old wedding dress and using them to create a new set of jewelry. There’s so much you can do to reuse past treasures that have faded for one reason or another and turn them into heirlooms that you can share with the future.
I look forward to reading your suggestions and ideas here along with any questions. What have I missed?
