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Sunday, March 31, 2013

Generations


So this is Bernice (the oldest of the Womack/ADKOF women – dare I say “matriarch”?) and I thought it was time you heard from me and where I get my inspiration.  I began making jewelry a number of years ago when I came across a box of my grandmother’s costume jewelry. 

Grandma was a flapper in the 1920s and still had quite the “flair” when I was growing up.  She loved jewelry and pretty clothes and dressing up to go to parties.  I like to think I inherited this from her!  It was so much fun for me to go through that box of old jewelry and see what pieces she had chosen over the years – some were very specific colors to go with certain outfits and others could be worn with anything.  I could tell that some of them were her favorites because they were well-worn on the edges and the glass pearls were translucent from the outer color having worn completely off.  Many of her favorites were the very ones I would have chosen.  I took these pieces and restrung and restored them so that I could wear and enjoy them.


  That was my first foray into the wonderful world of beads and crystals and findings! I fell in love!  Then I inherited my Mother’s jewelry box that she had inherited from her mother.  Another stash of jewelry!




  My mother didn’t wear a lot of jewelry, but Nanny loved to wear fine costume jewelry and I remember my Granddaddy telling me how much he loved to buy jewelry for her.  So I began making jewelry that had special meaning for me, using pieces from my mother as well as both grandmothers.  It gave me a sense of self, a feeling of having a little bit of them with me, a passing of the “flair” from one generation to another.  I think this will be my next project:


5 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing that. Bernice! I don't know where Rachel got her creative flair but I am so happy you can share that together and I hope that one day she will be doing the same thing with my jewelry and carry a piece of me with her always.

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    2. I would LOVE that!! It always blesses my heart to see all the jewelry that Bernice keeps from her mom and grandmothers. I can tell it makes her happy to have things that made her mother and grandmother happy, so I KNOW it'' be the same for me one day (hopefully many, many years from now though...I wouldn't want to think about losing you any time soon!)

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  2. This is so awesome. My great-grandmother left a bunch of her jewelry to me when she died. I hardly ever wear it, because I don't want to mess it up, but it is so cool to have.

    Jillian - http://epic-thread.blogspot.com

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    1. Hi Jillian! We LOVE heirloom pieces at ADKOF. Several of our designs feature heirloom materials that either belonged to our family members or that we stumbled upon at antique stores. We have done several redesigns for people who have oodles of heirloom jewelry that they wouldn't necessarily want to wear as is, but want to sport a piece of their loved ones' favorite jewelry. Get creative!

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