New Granger shop focuses on creating new jewelry from old items - South Bend Tribune
Meg Truesdell likes her jewelry to have some history. That’s why she tries to include at least one piece of vintage material in everything she creates.
Gears from a vintage pocket watch, an old key, wooden pendants made from salvaged scraps, anything she can repurpose into a trendy piece of jewelry she will — especially if it’s a personal treasure.
Not only does Truesdell base her philosophy of jewelry design on personal treasure, it’s also where she got the name for her new Granger store, Treasureology.
“Everybody has treasures,” she says of creating custom pieces out of personal effects. “You love them but never see them.”
Located at 51160 Bittersweet Road in Granger, just south of Adams Road next to Starlite Pizza, Treasureology will open Oct. 1. The store will be open Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The grand opening will include refreshments and a jewelry-making station.
And the store is quickly coming together and will have the same vintage aesthetic as Truesdell’s jewelry.
A lot of displays are made from re-purposed items. There’s an old trunk Truesdell jokes she used to hide in as a child and then there’s the focal point of her lounge area — a vintage electric fireplace with a foldout bar and record player on top.
It will be a good conversation piece for when Truesdell starts offering jewelry classes. She says she hopes to start classes soon after opening the store, but is currently raising money for new tools for her classes. You can find out more by searching Treasureology at kickstarter.com.
Truesdell wants to offer workshops like “Class & Cocktails: Make a little, Drink a little,” “Grandma’s Jewelry Box: Upcycling Favorite Treasures,” “Green is Good: Finding Treasure in Trash,” and “Yeah it Broke: Basic Costume Jewelry Repair.”
She expects to also offer classes for kids as well.
Although she’s been making jewelry since she was a kid, Truesdell says she’s been making and teaching professionally for more than 15 years. Originally from Niles, she moved to Louisville, Ky., with her husband in 1996 where she worked for an art gallery and began picking up more advanced jewelry-making techniques.
After living there for about eight years, the couple moved back to the area after having their first child. Truesdell opened a store in downtown Niles, which she operated for about three years until the economy tanked. With a 5-year-old and a new baby, she says, she decided to stay home with her kids, which she’s done for the last eight years.
Now she’s ready to get back in business. This summer she was back selling at festivals and markets, but selling on the road can be taxing, she says.
“I’m a homebody. I like a home base,” Truesdell says.
So it was time to either commit to a traveling store operating out of a trailer or get a physical location, she says. Wanting to offer classes, she decided on a permanent storefront.
Using her connections from festivals and markets, Truesdell says, she will also feature items from other area artists. And it was her recent success at Art Beat in August that solidified Truesdell’s choice to open a store.
Back at the downtown South Bend festival for the first time in eight years, the Treasureology booth won best display.
“It was a really good omen,” she says. “It made me feel like I made the right choice.”
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