Jun 27

Jun 27 Gold Brooches, Bangkok, Bees, Beads & Job Lots ~ How To Up-Cycle Vintage Jewellery.

I’ve got a dramatic head and goalkeepers hands, so I’ve always been a big funky chunky jewellery wearing woman. Fine, delicate necklaces just disappear under my flamboyant hair and extravagant face and I haven’t gotten a ring over my East End Street Fighters middle knuckle since I was ten years old.

It’s never been a problem as there was always an abundance of statement costume jewellery in the 80s and 90s and now what was naff to me in the 80s has come around cool again, so it’s like reliving it in Pepsi & Shirley’s court shoes.

It wasn’t until I went to Bangkok for three months last year that I had a little tiny style epiphany. I found there was a traditional art and crafts style for miniature ceramics there, which I fell madly for, and will explore in another article, but also the on-trend fashion was for very fine necklace and bracelet chains or rings with tiny charms - usually with birds or zoomorphic creatures, and I loved it.

Teeny tiny Thai ceramic animals, Siam Centre, Bangkok.

Freshly unpacked miniature ceramic animals from Chatachuk Market, complete with paper crash helmet.

The night markets, artists street markets and design stores were full of it. It felt exciting to see such a clear contemporary fashion and although the fuse-wire rings with pin-head birds looked like grains of rice on my huge hands, I did find an absolute smash at an outdoor artists market next to the Siam Centre. Even the stalls were tiny and as I leant in to squint at the microscopic delicacies my enormous hair got caught up in her dream-catchers. Nightmare.

Bangkok Bee pendant with fine gold tone chain.

I found a fantastic enamel honeycomb necklace with two bees on a fine chain. A dream come true. I can’t remember how much it was, possibly 500 baht, and although I fancied the skinny rings, I bought a chunkyish brassy inquisitive seahorse who looked like he’d just woken up.

When you wake up on bus in Bangkok and you don’t know..

This ignited a spark of skinny jewellery possibilities. An untapped gold-tone-mine of treasure was unlocked. I have been hoovering up vintage brooches for ages (50p -£3), mostly animal themed, and emptying the contents of my pockets and purse straight into the Big Swan when I get home. Happily enjoying the knowledge they were there, safe and sound and occasionally getting them out to look at and put back.

Encouraged by my YouTube addiction of watching ladies opening charity shop jewellery jars, I had also been creeping around eBay in the night buying job lots of vintage jewellery. This is without doubt the best fun you can have while your Cat is asleep.

There is always something fabulous in there that is just amazing as it is, but there is also always quite a lot of stuff that isn’t so instantly wearable, like chains where the pendant is missing, boring old beads or chains with beads that aren’t quite your kind of cool.

Interesting Lohan Buddhist prayer beads.

Not very interesting 80’s office wear beads.

I’d like to say I had a Eureka moment, but I’d been planning it for months. I gave the 80’s office ladies beads a bath to get rid of the smell of a well fermented Lantheric and removed about a pound of caked on foundation and matched them up with my brooches.

That water is still available on the Rimmel foundation colour match chart - Miami Vice No. 9.

Oh it worked better than I imagined and everything came to life. I could hear Joan Collins and Melanie Griffiths in the corridor. Right, where did I put my white viscose pleat-fronted double-breasted power blouse thirty five years ago? It’s got to be here, I never throw anything out. Just call me Crystal Carrington and get me a cocktail.