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Refurbishing Beads: Vintage Treasures |
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Written by Dara Spiotto
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Tuesday, 08 April 2008 |
 REFURBISHING BEADS:
My husband’s grandmother is 80 years young. The twinkle in her eye and her fantastic sense of humor keep her going strong. But right now she’s living in a mess. You can imagine what 40 years of accumulation looks like in a home. Perhaps some of you are living it, also! Grandma Terry raised kids in her home, eventually lost her husband there, along with two beloved cat companions later on. She decided she sentimentally couldn’t part with things, and now she’s in a mess. Literally.
So the family is helping her dig out. Trash dumpsters, wrecking crews, and contractors are helping to get rid of the unnecessary and renovating what’s left there. In the end she’ll have a brand new space, with her possessions cleaned and organized, and she’ll have the most important thing… peace of mind and easy living. At 80 she deserves that. Meanwhile…
 Treasure is surfacing!
Ohhhh... The loot! There’s a lovely little round table with a glass top that lifts, and dozens of old stone set brooches are in there. Many of them are signed, and two of them are Miriam Haskell specifically. Necklaces in original boxes, boxes full of interesting old things like eyeglasses in cases from the late 1800’s, and original old political buttons from 1920 to 1990. Very fun stuff to sort through, like rummaging in the past.
When I told my friend Kim about the jewelry her eyes glistened. But I broke the news… Grandma doesn’t want her jewelry to be refurbished. She’s not ready to let go of it, so woe for my friend. Kim makes a business of refurbishing old jewelry and re-selling it to beaders through rented spaces at antique malls or direct sales. She says the process is pretty easy.
 A pirate’s booty awaits…
It involves a bit of wandering, searching and hunting, but the treasure that’s found is worth the work. Antique stores, thrift stores, re-sale shops, yard sales, church fairs… you name it. The amount of vintage jewelry floating around in the world is astronomical. Some buying trips are disappointing, while other times those same venues produce a cache of goods.
Once the stash is home, it's time for dismantling. Of course, it's important to check for signed work, so that you’re not taking apart something that’s more valuable as a whole. If all is safe and clear, then the wire cutters and scissors come out and it's time to get to work.
Beads, glorious beads!
As each piece is taken apart, the beads are sorted into piles. Everything is saved, from spacers to beads to clasps. In some cases, the beads will need to be cleaned, and that’s done on the spot. Then the pieces are sorted into small zip lock bags and prices are written on the bags before being set aside.
Prices for the contents of each bag are determined by the original price of the piece. Say it’s a necklace being taken apart. The total cost of the necklace is divided up between the beads, with better beads priced accordingly. Also, a markup for profit is determined that includes labor, gas, etc. In the end, you’ve got a huge bag full of little zip lock bags full of beads, waiting to be stranded and priced.
 Stranded! And loving it.
Fishing line is used for stranding, since it’s clear and stiff and easy to knot, and 30 lb. test seems to work the best. It’s a proven fact that beads will sell better on a strand instead of a plastic bag. I’ll tell you why, even though I think its painfully obvious. Beads on a strand are so much more tactile. You can drape them across your wrist and know what they’ll look like strung into a finished piece. You’ll holding the beads themselves, instead of mushing them around in a bag, where they’re hard to see through the plastic. What’s more visually appealing? A table full of stranded beads or a table full of plastic bags full of beads? ‘Nuff said.
So the beads are stranded up, priced and ready to go! At the end of the stranding, there is usually a bag of left over weird stray beads, ones that didn’t have enough to make a full strand of, or were just unusual. These beads get stranded into small strands where every bead on the strand is different. They come out fun, colorful and inspiring! A wire wrapped bracelet where every bead is different is unique, fun and whimsical.
 Re-invented and set free.
Kim sorts the strands into trays according to color, size or type (such as lucite or glass or metal or crystal). Then she puts them in her car and takes them with her. Sometimes she sells direct to bead stores or to bead people themselves. Sometimes she does small shows and represents the beads herself. In that case, its fun for her to tell people how she acquired them, and how she finds them.
It's fun to think that the beads you just bought and made a bracelet from are the same beads a woman of the past wore to a party or night out. They’re getting new life and more use, one of my very favorite things about beads. They really are timeless.
“To me, creativity and life are both made up of puzzles, conundrums. The pieces are out there but you must study to know how to rearrange them in a new configuration. Often, when I create jewelry I take apart antique pieces, reusing parts in a few new ways.” ~ Marla Gassner |
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