Today’s Jewelry Collection Story comes from Caitlin of @mama_melts_it
She posts wonderful photos of her personal collection on Instagram and continually rotates the pieces she wears, so often times items that were once hers will be up for grabs. I love following her and I know you will too! Let’s get into her story:
“I have been collecting jewelry, or at least trying to, for as long as I can remember. I have one very distinct early memory of a rhinestone necklace that my grandmother had and of me laying out a pretty darn clear, persuasive argument to her about how when I turned seven I would be old and mature enough to wear and care for it…if only she would give it to me. I have always gravitated toward marking milestones in my life with pieces of jewelry. In the last decade or so, doing this for myself rather than hoping that others would read my mind and do it for me has been wonderful! It has been the key to curating the collection I have, which is deeply meaningful to me and expresses many aspects of who I am.”
“I have put a lot of thought into categorizing my collection in several different ways, working to understand what has been a very instinctual, gut-driven method of collecting. I think what it comes down to are three large themes: 1. the simple, bold, impactful pieces, which are often quite heavy, 2. the symbolic and communicative pieces, 3. and the pieces with a connection to the natural world. Several of my favorites fit into more than one category.”
“I feel passionate about using jewelry to communicate. These small works of art can represent the most complex human emotions and evoke memories, thoughts, and feelings. Wearing the pieces in my collection makes me feel connected to people I love, to parts of myself, past and present, and to the mysteries of the natural world.”
“I love going to antique stores and shows, though most of my collection has come from a handful of trusted collectors and sellers on Instagram who I now consider friends. We talk jewelry ‘til the cows come home for sure, but we also connect about lots of other parts of our lives. I truly appreciate the relationships I’ve developed in this community! We’ve laughed our asses off, job hunted, worried about children, grieved losses, and celebrated successes together. For a person who has serious doubts about the role of technology in our lives (and who can barely operate a phone) I am certainly grateful for the real, living/breathing friends this app has given me.”
“Lots of my pieces come with a good story, and the one I’d like to share is the ring I use as my profile picture. I fabricated it myself, with some pretty rudimentary tools and skills. My father is a scholar of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and has always been a huge influence, in all ways, on both me and my son. Several years ago my son designed this symbol to represent our family. It incorporates several hieroglyphics: the Jded column for stability, representing the backbone of Osiris and the trunk of a tree; the Akhet for beginnings and endings, representing both the sunrise and sunset between mountains, and the snake swallowing its tail for eternal renewal. My son and I each have his design as a tattoo as well.”
“For jewelry storage, I found an old velvet box that probably held a silver dish in the past, and used a cashmere sweater that accidentally shrunk in the wash to make rolls inside the box to hold rings. It’s pretty quirky, but very soft and protective. For larger pieces, I use small transparent pouches I found on etsy that I can easily thumb through and see what’s inside. Those get kept together in an old leather gentleman’s toiletry case from the 1940’s that looks like a suitcase for a teddy bear.”
“A couple of years ago I had a phrase from a poem that my dad wrote for me when I was a baby, “We walk together,” inscribed on a 14k gold cuff that I made when I was in my twenties. Then about a month ago I saw a solid, heavy 18k ID bracelet with a large blank plate and knew that I wanted to make a companion piece. There were two poems from my dad that go together, which I have framed on my wall. I borrowed a phrase from the second one, “nose to nose with dragons,” for the ID bracelet. The same engraver did both, and replicated my dad’s left-handed script beautifully. I never take these bracelets off. I look at them at some point every day to feel my dad with me and muster a combination of courage and connection.”
You can follow Caitlin here —> @mama_melts_it
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