make a statement

The Melanie Necklace by Samantha House via Luxist

The bib necklace trend has been going strong since early 2009 as reported by Who What Wear. I'm not one to jump on a trend at the beginning - I like to see it play out and watch how it refines over time. Then of course, all you have to do is look to history to determine that it's not an original idea afterall. Cleopatra was sporting a golden bib necklace in ancient Egypt, and the bibs Liz Taylor wore in the movie were a bit more modern.

Designers have been recycling ideas for centuries. The true mark of an artist is someone who takes the historical or commonplace and reinvents it with a modern sensibility. Thankfully, the bib necklace morphed into the statement piece and you can find dozens of options out there. The first time I fell in love with statement jewelry was when I discovered Kelly Framel, the fashion blogger known as The Glamourai.

What I like about her necklace designs are the bold choices: a tight collar shape, chunky feel, and the mixed texture of chain and beads. This gorgeous chunky choker-style Moroccan cascade necklace (below, sold out) has a bold mix of stones, pearls of different sizes, chain, etc. It's a real inspiration.

via Kelly Framel

Here are a few other recent inspirations...

Luckily, this Ranjana Khan Lapis Bead Bib Necklace from Saks Fifth Avenue is no longer available (originally $1100) otherwise I'd have to pawn something to buy it. I love the bold color, the seemingly fused gems and the collar shape.

The use of ribbon is a really romantic element that gives a statement piece that vintage feel. The above champagne necklace is also no longer available (I'm kind of good at finding those) but it was lovingly handmade by an Etsy Seller in Canada, and is a great inspiration for DIY'ing your own. I have boxes of broken vintage jewelry just waiting for a job like this.

The Olympia Necklace via History and Industry

And then there is this little gem from Irene Wood. I first discovered her many talents a few years ago through a coworker. She's also a painter (check out my favorite piece; I'd like to put it on fabric), but she has so much creativity bursting out of her she has to channel it somewhere, and luckily for us, she channels it into jewelry. The Olympia is made of three strands of painted gold, beige, silver and mauve wooden beads that create this thick bib necklace. It sits high like a collar. Big, bold, regal, lightweight. $175 and worth every penny. I'm currently selling shoes on eBay in order to buy one of Irene's necklaces.

So after absorbing all this inspiration and while waiting for my eBay items to sell, I decided to take a tip from the hordes of DIY sites out there and make my own. There are dozens of sites that will show you how to copy an item you see in a magazine (P.S. I Made This, Thanks I Made it, Copycat Crafts... you can read about the make it don't buy it trend here). Although I totally respect the skills and appreciate the resourcefulness, I've always had a problem with the whole "knock off" aspect. In my DIY practice, I prefer to use an item as inspiration to fuel my own creativity, and then make something totally unique with a nod to the original.

First I pinpoint the different qualities of the item I like, then I gather up my materials and start playing. I buy most of my materials at thrift stores, preferring to use recycled bits whenever I can, but I do go to Fusion Beads for stringing wire, toggle clasps and crimpers in order to put it all together.

I found these funky brown wooden beads at the Everett Goodwill and decided to incorporate them into a chunky statement necklace. I also snagged these amazing semi-precious turquoise burnished agate beads at 40% off during Fusion's end of year sale. The chain is recycled and I used small silver discs as spacers on the ends of each strand.

Jewelry_making

I like how it turned out so I made another using the same wooden beads, a recycled necklace of faux pearls as an accent, and a recycled oversized toggle clasp.

Finally, I wanted a statement piece using only chain, so I dug through my stash and came up with this. It came together from 9 different recycled necklaces and a recycled metal chain belt for the clasp. What will you make today?