Once You Were Mine

We recently commissioned seven artists to each make a piece of jewellery. Their brief was simple: take an item once belonging to an e.g.etal staff member and recycle and re-imagine it. These items—forgotten pieces of jewellery or objects—came with their own story, were given a new one by each artist and now they wait for their new owners. We’ll be handing these pieces onto seven people via our Facebook page.

To be in with a chance, become a fan of e.g.etal on Facebook and like the Once You Were Mine photo gallery. On Friday 17 February we’ll randomly select seven people who will, one-by-one, choose which unique piece of jewellery they will own.

If you don’t have Facebook, we forgive you. Feel free to email info@egetal.com.au with the subject line ‘Once You Were Mine’ instead.

The pieces and their stories:

Belinda’s bracelet by Romy Mittelman:
For quite a while I’ve had a habit of collecting jewellery that I find in antique stores. While I was in New York a few years ago I of course indulged; picking up little treasures from shops in the East Village, Chelsea, SoHo etc. I found this unassuming tennis bracelet, complete with cubic zirconias, somewhere in Manhattan. It reminded me of something you’d see on a character in The Great Gatsby, reclining with a mint julep on a leisurely Sunday afternoon. Very New York.
-Bel

The bracelet lay in the tray nestled among other sentimental treasures. The cubic zirconias sparkled and seemed to aspire to something greater. If this bracelet could speak I think it would tell me how much it loves its new incarnation. A classy woman will wear this piece and love it so that it finally achieves the grandeur it once sought. I felt the bracelet’s Art Deco charm was worth keeping. The fine wax wires that I cast into sterling silver added to the timeless appeal of these earrings.
-Romy

Emma’s skull by William Llewellyn Griffiths:
As a jeweller I occasionally attend gem fairs. It’s always exciting—rooms abounding in precious stones, gems, beads and other bits and pieces to make you weak at the knees. While I was in Hong Kong at one of these events I purchased some turquoise skull beads; I love the playful take on the Day of the Dead aesthetic. On the plane home I made a necklace for myself with these and other beads. There was one left over and I held onto it, waiting for the day when it would find itself a home.
-Emma

I chose the turquoise skull because skulls have always held a huge appeal to me. I love design that sits on the darker side of the spectrum; macabre and slightly sinister. Even though this turquoise skull is rather light and smiley, I felt it would still work well with my other skull designs. The piece is titled: Black, White, Turquoise; we can all get along (on the same bracelet).
-William

Gianna’s glass beads by Julia deVille:
In Year 11 I was working at a shop on the Sunshine Coast. I was telling my boss about the upcoming Year 11 School Formal. My boss was nice enough to lend me a black glass bead necklace to go with my outfit for the night. I wore a floor length crushed velvet Dangerfield gown (red), teamed with a pair of elbow length gloves (black) and I’m pretty sure there was brown lipstick (mocha) involved, probably with a gloss over the top. I never gave the necklace back.
-Gi

I chose the beads for pretty obvious reasons—they are black and shiny! I cut the beads off the necklace and added a fine silver chain and my signature bone and re-threaded them.
-Julia

Lilian’s fish pendant by Jess Morrison:
I originally bought this pendant about eight years ago. I had recently turned 18 and a friend of mine was wearing a similar piece at the time. The fish’s articulated body intrigued me. It look liked it was swimming when you wore it. I loved it as an object, the way it moved and particularly the colour combination. It reminded me of a koi, which is a common carp bred for its decorative colour. In Japan koi are highly valued and are seen as good luck. I feel like you need a bit of luck on your side when you turn 18.
-Lil

The opportunity to tweak and revive this whimsical treasure was too good to pass up: it was blue, white and gold, it could wiggle from gill to tail and it was naïve, I loved it immediately. Although knowing instantly that I would work with the original forms I pulled it apart to then rebuild it with additional enamelled scales and tails. I wanted the fish to be the big fish.
-Jess

Olivia’s earrings and Hamsa hand by Jennifer Martin:
This odd combination of pieces has been at the bottom of my jewellery box for as long as I can remember. The two silver balls were both from different pairs of earrings. They’re slightly different sizes and this toys with the sense of perspective. The Hamsa Hand was collected along the way too. It’s such a meaningful symbol in many cultures and it seemed a shame for it to stay at the bottom of the jewellery box when it could be protecting someone from the evil eye.
-Liv

I think I thought the hand looked like it needed some embellishment and I liked the mismatched earrings. They were very shiny. I knew I didn’t want them to be earrings. I played around with them in my studio with my bits and pieces. I think my mind was on clouds at the time. I wanted to somehow balance the pieces together. I think the necklace does hang nicely when worn. It is called the Feathered Hand.
-Jen

Richard’s badge by Caitlin Boyce:
I bought a jacket from Brunswick Savers a couple of years ago and it’s actually nicely cut. It fits well: the shoulders snug but not tight, the lapels the right width, the sleeves the perfect length and the waist neatly tucked. The colour is great (because the colour is beige) and the material agreeable, the lining perfectly intact, and it didn’t come with any mystery stains. A few weeks later I found this RSL badge in the breast pocket and realised that somebody out there with my exact proportions fought in a war.
-Rich

Initially I was drawn to the perfect proportions of the badge—such a neat shape. My thoughts then turned to the origins of the badge. States the RSL website: it is “a symbol of a readiness at all times to render service to Crown and country, and to former comrades. It is a time-honoured emblem – one that has been worn with a deep sense of pride by the most revered in our land and one that glorifies all privileged to wear it.” My piece, ‘Missing’, is an attempt to bring to mind those “former comrades”. The faceless shields in the neckpiece represent the names of those who died unknown. The previous owner of our badge was one of the lucky ones. Lucky enough to come home and purchase a well tailored, beige jacket.
-Caitlin

Tess’ glo-mesh by Yuko Fujita:
One of my favourite things to do on days off is to take an opp-shop crawl along the Lilydale train line. I jump off the train at each station and scour opp-shops in the area for second hand and vintage goods: clothes, accessories, materials, ephemera, objects… I bought this offcut of glo-mesh on one of these expeditions about five years ago. I’d always intended to do something with it—make it into a cuff, or the foundation for a necklace—but never got around to it.
-Tess

My role was to focus on the characteristic and unique elements of the item to give it new life. I felt that Tess’ gold-mesh needed to shine again, maybe in the sky. I also wanted people around the piece to feel smiley and cheerful. ‘Cloud Nine’ was a perfect concept to start with…
-Yuko