Greece mom taps into upcycling vintage jewelry trend - Democrat & Chronicle
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It started with visits to arts and crafts shows.
Joette Kruppenbacher would go and look at the jewelry with her mother, Mary Loria, and think, "I can do that."
Kruppenbacher and her mom loved vintage jewels, especially brooches, and she learned how to make jewelry.
A stay-at-home mom who worked as a hairdresser and a secretary while raising her two children, Kruppenbacher dabbled in her hobby over the past 16 years. About five years ago, her mother became gravely ill and started telling her that she could make a business out of her hobby.
"She said to me, 'You can do this. You need to make the leap,'" Kruppenbacher recalls.
Mary Loria died in 2014. Kruppenbacher never forgot how her mother in her final days pushed her to try to make a go of her hobby.
About a year and a half ago, Kruppenbacher took the leap and launched Jewelry by Joette. She put her repurposed vintage statement necklaces out for the world to see and to buy.
Jewels that had been sitting in drawers for decades found a new life with Kruppenbacher. She melded different pins and beads into new creations of art.
Along the way, women found her services to redo their family jewels. She can take a drawer full of old jewelry and custom-make a necklace into something new.
"Everything is original," she said. "No two creations are alike."
She charges about $20 an hour for the services to create a personal statement necklace. She also sells repurposed necklaces at two locations in Rochester: The Shops on West Ridge at 3200 W. Ridge Road in Greece and Deborah Jean & Co. at 626 Park Ave. in Rochester.
Prices vary from $65 for a faux pearl and crystal necklace to $125 for a large amber-colored necklace with a collage of pins highlighted by vintage beads. There are also leather cuff bracelets with vintage brooches for $35.
Upcycling vintage jewels is a major trend right now, Kruppenbacher said.
"The demand is there," she said. "People are really into recycling their precious jewelry."
Mary Chao is the retail and real estate reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle with a passion for helping readers save time and money. Have a tip for the column? Email mchao@Gannett.com.
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