I want to tell you a little story about a pair of earrings that never wanted to be earrings, and that wanted to make me toss in the towel.
I spent hours working on them. Sketching, sawing, soldering, setting. The whole shebang. But truth be told, they never quite felt right to me. So when they didn’t sell? I was actually relieved.
Eventually, I did what any artist with a gut feeling and a stubborn streak would do, I took them apart. Completely. Into the scrap pile the silver went, and out came a fresh idea. I kept it simple, added a little asymmetry for fun, and I was so excited. THIS design felt like it was finally clicking.
Until... I set the stones.
And then, I discovered that one of the jump rings didn’t solder properly, which meant the whole piece was structurally doomed. And as if that wasn’t enough, when I tried to take it apart again, I cracked the amber stone. To top it off, I had already melted one earring prior to this, so this was actually my third time starting over. At that point, I knew the earrings were meant to be something else.
Here’s the thing I’ve learned: sometimes jewelry has its own ideas. And it's sometimes about the process, not the final product.
And honestly? I try to listen.
Jewelry-making isn’t always about precision and perfection. Sometimes it’s about surrendering. About letting go of what you thought it should be and letting the piece come alive in its own way.
So here’s to cracked stones, re-dos, and unexpected beauty.
The earrings became exactly what they wanted to be.
