I really love that Banrock Station are an environmentally conscious organisation. You can read all about their philosophies here: Banrock Station.
That is why, when I make beads from wine bottles, I mostly use Banrock Station wines. They care about the environment. And their wine bottles are such a pretty colour!
These earrings have all been made from recycled glass. This photograph features Skyy Vodka, Peroni Beer, Coopers Ale, Banrock Station and Bombay Sapphire Gin. And I am happy to make these earrings in other colours too. Last year I made a pair from a Moet Champagne bottle, and they looked SO pretty! The beads catch the light beautifully.
I do love the Skyy Vodka jewellery, and this set in particular really shows off the amazing colour of this glass.
…to everyone who gives me their old bottles, I say a big thank you to you all! It’s easy to put something in the bin, but it takes a lot more effort to stop and put the bottle aside, and to make sure I get it at some stage. For all of you who make that effort, I am truly grateful.
Remember last year, when I showed you the farm glass that someone had given me so that I could make them some special necklaces? Well, here are a couple of necklaces that I made with the glass. It was such a lovely glass to work with, and I wanted to stay as close to the original colours s possible. I like the mix of colours and shapes in these necklaces.
I have just listed some new Peroni beer bottle jewellery. Both my Etsy shop and my online shop have been updated with new products. I love the Peroni beer bottle colour. It’s not quite the Pantone 2017 colour of the year, but it’s close, and it has a real vibrancy and freshness to it.
It’s always fun to look back and see what photos resonated for people. This is the Top 9 photos from Instagram for 2016 for me. A lot of recycled glass in there! Thanks for liking what I do.
Oh gosh, it’s been a busy December. A busy year actually! I’m looking forward to a tiny break over Christmas. I think I might even clean my desk so that I can start the new year all sparkly! A big thanks to everyone who has bought my work this year. I am so grateful to you all.
I’m still taking orders, and I’m happy to work on custom requests too.
I had another special request from a customer recently. They had collected a lot of old glass from a family farm, and the customer asked me if I could melt the glass and turn it into beads. I said I would try….and I’ll show you the result soon!
The glass is so old, and so pretty. And I love that this old glass will be made into necklaces that the family can wear and treasure forever!
I love the concept of upcycling! The idea of reusing what is essentially something destined for the bin, and creating an entirely new product from that.
I’ve experimented with many, many ways of making beads from recycled glass, and over the years I have found that letting the colour of the glass shine through is what appeals to me the most!
I am very fond of the Skyy Vodka bottles and the beads that I make from that. One of the prettiest necklaces that I make is this one, where one of the strands of beads is shiny, and the other is etched for contrast. They are simple, elegant , and really beautiful necklaces.
