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!
Metamorphosis 40: Redo - Stackable Rings
I asked Stef if she wanted to be part of Metamorphosis Redo because I made her a pendant during my Game of Thrones phase and figured she might be over it (I was)!
She asked for either a necklace to represent her daughters or some stackable rings to wear with her wedding band. I was going to go with the pendant because stackable rings seemed so…basic. But despite being basic, they are just so darn wearable and practical! So that’s what I went with.
She sent me photos of plain stackable rings but I decided to throw in some pizazz by adding a hammered yellow gold and twisted silver. Figured it would give her ring stack more definition!
I’m hoping to sneak in one more Metamorphosis Redo this year! Fingers crossed I don’t run out of time!
Metamorphosis 39: Sterling silver family stackers
I started following Jen Pistor on Instagram and quickly realized that her fashion philosophy would make her a perfect fit for my Metamorphosis project! She writes and shares about ethical and sustainable fashion (among other things - check our her blog here). And…it turns out that she lives just up the street from me!
I scheduled Jen’s metamorphosis for September, and shortly after, she reposted the image in the gallery below (from @fashiontakesaction) that reads: Thrifted. Borrowed. Swapped. Vintage. Used. Handed Down. Reused. #SecondHandSeptember
It’s like the stars were aligning for this specific metamorphosis project!
My metamorphosis project involves using old jewellery that we no longer wear because it is broken, outdated, etc. I find ways to reuse items as is if possible and if not, I melt them down and turn them into something new.
Although I can provide people with new materials, I really love melting down people’s old jewellery. Not only is it fascinating to see what kind of jewellery people bring me, sustainable business practices’ are really important to me and using recycled materials is a huge part of that.
Jen brought me an assortment of her old silver jewellery and mentioned wanting some stackable bands. Here’s the thing: they may seem simple to design, but when you’re making something for someone who is an advocate of slow fashion, you really want to make something that isn’t just your average stackable band.
(Sidenote: Slow fashion is the movement of designing, creating, and buying garments for quality and longevity. It encourages slower production schedules, fair wages, lower carbon footprints, and (ideally) zero waste.)
Getting a sense of Jen’s style was pretty easy thanks to the deep creep I did on her instagram (go to her IG here) and blog. I have a new appreciation for the colour yellow thanks to Jen and how she wears and styles the colour! As such, I decided to add 14k yellow gold to the three stackable silver rings I chose to make her.
One band has five mini-hydrangeas in 14k yellow gold to represent each member of her family (hydrangeas are her favourite flower that make her think of her grandmother). They aren’t symmetrically placed nor are they perfect. At first this made me nervous but nothing in life is perfect which is what makes things imperfectly perfect. When I told Jen this, she added that she is an advocate of body positivity and loving ourselves in however shape we come so this ring actually really speaks to her! How perfect!
The second band at first just seemed like a design that would pair well with the hydrangea-band, but as I made it I got thinking about all the dualities in life but especially those of motherhood. We may be mum’s, but we are still women with individual personalities outside of what motherhood requires and it’s important for us not to forget that. We can't pour from an empty cup so it's important to take care of ourselves.
I set the third band with 12 citrines (yellow! And also her birthstones) because mum’s are always on…24 stones would have been more accurate to represent 24 hours in a day but I was thinking of a 12 hour clock.
They can be worn together or alone and pair well with most outfits.
I have learned so much about the fashion industry from following Jen on Instagram and I would encourage you to do the same. We can all do a little more to help create a more sustainable world and education is the first step!
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 31: Stering silver and pearl brooch
Pearl Brooch
I spent a long time figuring out what to make for Metamorphosis 30! Lizette had these opals that I really wanted to use but I just couldn’t figure out how to incorporate their asymmetrical shapes into any designs that would suit her. She also had a few pearls and it made me think of all the lonely pearls we all have but don’t know what to with! How many of you have a bag of random pearls (mostly single earrings because you lost the partner)? Exactly!
Lizette loves brooches which made the choice of what type of jewellery to make easy. To make this brooch, I soldered a bunch of settings together and then soldered them into a hammered silver ring. Then I added the brooch pin and set the pearls. I would have liked to make it a convertible brooch to pendant but with the open back design, that wouldn’t work. (Note: the brooch pin can’t be seen when the brooch is being worn!)
METAMORPHOSIS 26
Gold and Diamond Family Ring
Boy did I stress about this one! Monica had a Pinterest board full of jewellery ideas, which was awesome, but I couldn't pinpoint a specific style. I also didn't want to make another ring but that is the only design that kept coming to mind. (Good thing too because that's what she really wanted and she was convinced I was going to make her bangle! Ha!)
In the end, the ring has three elements: she likes two-toned jewellery, she seemed to like wrap rings, and she likes sentimental pieces. In regards to the latter: the three diamonds represent her husband and sons, and she's the wrap ring, hugging them!
I had to get my dad to help me quite a bit with the yellow gold part of this ring. Instead of making a wax model which would have made my life a lot easier, I decided to make the ring by hand. However, I'm not strong enough to bend gold by hand that's thick enough to contour. After the yellow gold wrap ring was done, I melted the white gold and made a bar that was soldered to the middle of the yellow wrap ring. Then I soldered the white gold settings so the white bar, set the stones, and polished the ring.
After I finished making the ring, I started panicking that I totally missed the mark and that she would hate what I made her. I even called a mutual friend for moral support. I know people sign up for this project expecting a 50% chance that they might hate what I make them, but I would obviously like to aim for 100% satisfaction.
Thankfully, despite my panic, she loved it!
METAMORPHOSIS 2017
I've spent the last month thinking about my business goals for 2017 and I've decided that next year I will not be offering the monthly metamorphosis project. I will however, offer Metamorphosis $100.
This year I've had the pleasure of making 3 Metamorphosis $100's (photos below). Here are the details:
- you can book the service at any time
- the turnaround is approximately 4 weeks
- the cost is $100 which I require upfront
- I will take your likes/dislikes into consideration, but the final product will be a design of my choice
- I will post a before/after photo and include a brief description of my jewellery-making process (here are links to samples: Magda, Beth, Karen)
- referrals only
Interested? Email me at alicia@aagoldsmith.com
Lastly, if you would rather design your own jewellery, I'd be happy to meet with you and quote you on my labour!
METAMORPHOSIS 24: REVEAL
Charm Necklace
I really had no idea what I was going to make Cassie up until a week ago. I just couldn't figure it out. I asked her to send me some photos of jewellery she likes and had decided to make a bracelet based on one of the photos she sent me. Then I started overthinking the bracelet idea and decided to make a charm necklace. I think I took her jewellery out every day for two weeks and nothing came to me until finally one day I realized I could turn some of her rings into charms.
I made the honeycomb by hand. I melted gold, rolled it out, cut out some hexagons and filed down their edges. The yellow gold "C" charm and the diamond setting were from two different rings she had. I took the rings apart, re-engraved the faded "C", retipped the claws on the diamond setting, added some jump rings to both, and voila!
In case you're wondering about the honeycomb, Cassie's family owns the Honeybee Centre and she is basically my honey-dealer. And yes it would have made more sense for the honeycomb to be in yellow gold, but the "C" charm was yellow so I needed to create more balance. Plus, she mostly wears white metals.
This month's metamorphosis wasn't labour intensive but it sure did take awhile to come up with the idea. And sometimes less really is more: this month's metamorphosis really represents the project as a whole. The goal of metamorphosis is to try and repurpose what people have in the form it's already in. A lot of times I end up melting everything but it's cool when I can find ways to give something old, new life, without totally changing it.
This is the last metamorphosis of 2016! Next year I won't be doing monthly metamorphosis' but I will continue to do the project as people sign up for it. Stay-tuned! Interested? Details here.
METAMORPHOSIS 24: INTRO
Volunteer: Cassie G.
Likes: neutrals, organic shapes, simple, silver or white gold, sturdier bracelets, short necklaces, hammered metal, studs or earrings that don't dangle too much
This is my last Metamorphosis of 2016 and I have no idea what I'm going to make....NO IDEA. To make matters worse, I want to have it done by mid-month to avoid the Christmas hustle and bustle. Let's all nervously laugh together!
METAMORPHOSIS 23: REVEAL
Mini ear-climbers
As I mentioned in my intro, I knew what I wanted to make Alice from the very beginning. My biggest issue was picking stones. It took awhile to find small stones in a combination that worked. I originally wanted all of the stones to be the same colour but different shapes, but given the timeline, that wasn't going to work (I would have had to order stones online because my suppliers didn't have the shapes/stones I needed). It took me awhile to find a combination that worked size-wise. I ended up using round faceted hematites, round cabochon emeralds, and pear cabochon moonstones.
Once I had the stones, I bought the settings, soldered them together and voila!
METAMORPHOSIS 22: REVEAL
Two-toned X-Rings
A ring for Michelle and her sister!
Michelle had two rings from her parents that she said she would specifically like to use to make something for her and her sister but it didn't have to be for Metamorphosis. When she first told me this, I thought, don't use the rings...let her pick a special design. But as we started chatting about what she likes, etc, I got it into my head that I wanted to make them matching X-shape rings. I figured after a little research, I would think of something else to make her. Then, after our meeting, she sent me some photos of the jewellery she has which included some X and O earrings. It was a sign! She likes x-shapes! I had to make the rings! At the end of the day, she wasn't using her parents' rings so if she didn't like the new ones I made, then they'd go straight back to the bottom of her jewellery box.
After removing the stones and the white gold settings, I melted her gold. After making the bands and soldering them together, I sent them to the stone setter. Between the two rings, there were 18 stones but one of the stones was a tiny bit bigger than the rest so instead of 9 stones per ring, I was going to use 8. My dad suggested that 9 stones would actually look more even on he design so one of the rings would have to have the bigger stone in the middle. So that's what we did! The one with the bigger stone is Michelle's which makes sense because this was her Metamorphosis and she's the big sister!
METAMORPHOSIS 21: REVEAL
Stackable Rings
Other than mentioning that she'd like to acquire stackable rings, Irene said she'd like something that represents her family. The amethyst (yellow gold) and peridot (white gold) rings represent her daughters and one day she has the option of giving them their respective rings. The diamond ring is for her husband since the stone is from a ring he gave her. And the twisted wire ring represents Irene: both colour metals bringing everything together!
METAMORPHOSIS 21: INTRO
Volunteer: Irene K.
Likes: practical jewellery, classic/vintage, family-oriented, long necklaces, stackable rings, natural/organic shapes
I have two ideas for Irene's metamorphosis and am I'm leaning towards one of them. I'd like to try and use two diamonds from rings her husband gave her that she said she would like incorporated if possible. I also think I might be going two-toned on this one. Guess I better get to it!
METAMORPHOSIS 19: INTRO
Volunteer: Meghan B.
Profession: Officer, Philanthropy at the BCSPCA
Likes: neutrals, natural/organic stones, antiques, vintage, feminine details, necklaces
Meghan is the first friend I made in highschool. She is one of the best people I know so I'm pretty excited to make her something. That being said, I'm also terrified. I think I know her style pretty well, but that only adds pressure to this metamorphosis.
I have an idea. I think I really like it. Let's hope it works and that she likes it too!
METAMORPHOSIS 18: REVEAL
Leaf Pendant
Kelsey had said she wanted something to represent her daughters. She had sent me some photos of necklaces she liked that featured multiple dangling gems or gems and leaves. When I saw the leaves, I knew I wanted to make a leaf for each of her daughters!
I asked Kelsey to describe her daughter's personalities. Based on what she said, I designed the patterns on the leaves accordingly.
The diamond was an after thought that I think was meant to be. It was a pendant that her husband had given her. For some reason, although I cut the bale off, I didn't take the diamond out of it's setting when I was taking all of her jewellery apart. As I picked up her bag of leftover stones, I noticed the diamond and thought, what if I add it to the pendant?! So I did and voila! Another metamorphosis complete!
METAMORPHOSIS 18: INTRO
Volunteer: Kelsey A.
Profession: Teacher
Likes: neutrals, something that symbolizes her daughters, classic designs, mix of yellow and white gold, liked Metamorphosis 8 and 16
I have an idea! Kelsey sent me some photos of things she likes and as I was typing up her likes, an idea popped into my head. It's an idea that can be done two ways so I'm going to play around with some designs and see what happens!
METAMORPHOSIS: BETH
I went into Beth's metamorphosis thinking I wanted to make something without stones. Everything I've made lately has been stone-heavy. But as I took apart her jewellery, I found myself gravitating towards something with stones. She said she likes cool colours (and she had a lot of blue/green/white stones), a combination of metal and stones, and would like to acquire a pendant on a long chain.
I wanted to keep some of the settings Beth already had but in doing that, there was a chance some of the synthetic stones would lose their color. And they did. So to balance the colours, I had to change the colour pattern a bit.
As for the raindrop idea, I had seen a cool raindrop pendant somewhere on Pinterest ages ago. When I was playing around with Beth's stones, that pendant idea popped into my head and I knew I wanted to make a variation of it. Also, and this just happens to be a coincidence, but the two days I worked on Beth's pendant, it was raining. Is that a sign that it was meant to be? And furthermore on that note, Beth lives in Calgary. So on a cold but sunny day in Calgary, she'll have her little Vancouver raindrop to remind her of what she is/isn't missing!
METAMORPHOSIS 17: REVEAL
Cocktail Ring
I was inspired to make Ella this Victorian-styled cocktail ring after I saw a ring she already had (see the circled ring in images below). Also, she had a pendant that I was able to turn into the base of the ring setting. Furthermore, she seemed to gravitate toward other multi-stone Metamorphosis', so a multi-stone cocktail ring seemed like the right idea!
I chose hematite because I thought it would pair easily with most outfits when she dresses up. She also said she wears a lot of gray so I figured it was a safe colour!
METAMORPHOSIS 16: REVEAL
Cocktail Earrings
I've made Mavra quite a bit of jewellery so I knew I wanted to make her something I hadn't made her before: earrings.
She likes neutrals and said she wanted something a little fancier. She had told me she didn't care much if what I made her included stones, but then she loved last month's cuff. Based on that, I decided some multi-stone earrings in neutral colours might be a good option.
She doesn't wear brown so picking the smokey quartz was a but of a risk, but I hoped that since it's more of a light taupe, it would be soft and subtle enough for her. Plus, the hematite brings out the gray undertones of the quartz. She is petite and doesn't like big heavy earrings so I made them a bit bigger than a nickel. Fancy yet not over the top.
I quite like how these turned out! I think I'll make more!
