Round 2 of Suze's jewelry redesign project was delivered today.  She was delighted!  We're calling it the Band Practice Collection because of how it came about.  For several years, Suze taught music lessons in her studio to a group of ladies in their golden years who wanted to learn something new or brush up on old skills. Due to health and other issues, it came to be that all the ladies needed to meet at one home, and Suze delivered the lessons to them.  Over the years, they formed a "group" and called their sessions "Band Practice."  Her payment was a sum of money that they insisted she use for herself only...no bills, no gifts to anyone, just something special for herself.  She saved it up, and this jewelry redesign is what she chose.

She will be at the Spirit of the West Cowboy Gathering in Ellensburg WA February 14-17, and some of the new pieces are for this event.  She is performing and wanted new stage eye-catchers.  So I delivered.  We'll start with her favorite.

Here are a few more redesigns.  Each uses mainly the beads in the original, but I add glass, metal, or findings from my own stash to "make it right" and to put my own style on it.  Sometimes it needs to be longer (or shorter), or chunkier (or slimmer), or more symmetrical (or a bit crazy).  It all depends on what the beads in the original tell me.  

Here is a necklace that just needed to be lengthened into a rosary-style.  So I added quite a bit of glass and some coral.  Suze wanted more red and liked the two colors of turquoise in the original piece.

Here is a necklace that needed to be tamed a bit.  It's hard to tell it's the same set of beads!  The blackened copper filigree pendant is fabulous.

You can see Suze's style and color palette preferences in the necklaces above.  The next project is a real change of pace.  The crystal links had languished in a jewelry box for far too long.  They had been part of a necklace years ago, and Suze wanted it updated into pieces she could wear.

In October 2010 I met with a friend who wanted me to update her vintage collection of inherited jewelry, gifts, and her own purchases over the years.  She didn't wear it anymore, or never had in some cases, but she wanted to honor the memory of some pieces handed down from dear relatives.  So we met to brainstorm, and in the end she gave me a box of jewelry, some intact and some just remnants, and a list of projects that I completed by the end of the year.  

Suze Spencer Marshall is an award-winning musician, entertainer, music teacher, and record producer in Vancouver, WA whose western musical roots go way back to the 30s and 40s.   We first met at her house where she showed me fabulous collections of her stage wear: vintage western shirts and boots, lovely velvet jackets, and beaded garments from the early 20th century.  With these in mind, and knowing that she wanted what would look fabulous on stage, we planned the remakes.

Here are a few before and after pictures of what was done:

Those are five of the original remodels I did for Suze.  There were more, some with white glass pearls and very traditional, some with black nailheads in a netted design, some with glass chips that just needed more room between the beads so they could move.  All were fun.  As I work on Round 2, I'll show you the process.