Let's do this thing...

I make jewelry...out of old jewelry. I believe the term most often used is "re-worked" jewelry. I like to think of it more as intense wearable collage. I have no idea ahead of time what will come forth - rather, I construct these pieces as I see them, in the moment.

The name comes from a Joni Mitchell album. She is, in a lot of ways, a huge source of inspiration for me. Not only do I listen to her a lot while I work, I often imagine her wearing whatever it is I'm working on. Most of my pieces are made to whole albums. I've made entire necklaces, beginning to end, while listening to Frank Zappa's "Joe's Garage", Kate Bush's "The Hounds of Love", Gilberto Gil's "Acoustic", and, of course, Joni Mitchell's "Hejira". I studied music in school - jazz, so music is a huge part of what I do. Making jewelry inspired by music and musicians helps me marry my visual and aural thoughts into one gorgeous object.



I have always loved jewelry. Ever since I was a little kid, I would go through my mother's and grandmother's jewelry boxes, just looking at everything, and fidgeting with it all. Even now, I try to make all my pieces fun to, well, "play" with in your hands. Like Greek worry beads, or the rosary...something to clutch in your fingers while you "suss it out." I use old rosary beads a lot, along with other Catholic paraphenalia. I use raw stones, animal teeth and bones, vintage and antique chains and findings, modern costume pieces, Indian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Asian, African (really, you name it, I got it) charms/pendants, and vintage textiles. Every piece has a story and a lot of the stuff I make these things out of I have owned for a large part of my life; now willing to relinquish ownership to make something new.

You can check out my pieces for sale on Etsy
http://www.etsy.com/shop/royalcuriosity

Royal Curiosity is the vintage clothing company I have with my friend Ryan Watt. Our Blog is
http://www.royalcuriosity.blogspot.com

The Reckless Daughter Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reckless-Daughter/273898752457