George first became
interested in making jewelry from silverware after seeing some examples in
eastern Ontario. He has always
enjoyed creating, and his hobbies over the years have included photography,
woodworking, and stained glass art.
George and his wife Brenda retired to their home town of Grand Bend a
few years ago, and last year George had time to experiment with this new
creative art.
Researching different
techniques, George developed his own way of forming silverware into jewelry. He started making more than even Brenda
could wear, so with the encouragement of family and friends, he and his wife
started their new venture, “Style ‘n Silver”. Brenda discovered that there were endless patterns and
intricate designs of silverware, and she began tracking down suitable
pieces. George moved on to
transforming these knives, forks and spoons into pendants, earrings, bracelets
and brooches. This was giving new life to something that in many cases had been
packed away and forgotten for years in silverware chests or hidden in closets,
attics, and basements.
The more George learned
about working with silver, the more satisfying it became to transform old and
tarnished pieces into something “Bright and Beautiful” again.
Style ‘n Silver has done several
commissioned pieces using silverware which may have been in a family for
generations. Matching jewelry for
mothers, daughters, and granddaughters, as well as siblings, has all been made from
Grandma’s silver: a piece of
family history to wear proudly!
This jewelry can evoke
treasured memories of family gatherings where bringing out the silver was a
special event in itself. Old and
intricate patterns have been renewed as pendants, bracelets, rings, and pins,
inspiring their own stories as wearable art.
