At AuH2O Thriftique, we’re pretty old school about how we stock our store. We go out and unearth the gently worn gems ourselves for two reasons:

1. We’re utterly addicted to the thrill of the hunt.
2. We’re DIRT CHEAP.

We spend hours on end in icky, icky places to deliver the goods at the lowest possible cost. The only thing we sell that doesn’t involve a shit ton of patience, grit and endurance on our part? Jewelry. We order in bulk from our vintage suppliers, a box of baubles arrives and wee! Kate Goldwater and I are both Jewish, so opening those boxes is basically the closest thing to Christmas morning we’ve ever experienced.

There is, however, a box-of-chocolates aspect to the art of ordering vintage costume jewelry in bulk. Sometimes it’s a delectable Vosges truffle; sometimes it’s a barfy half-eaten Russell Stover square. We never know what we’re getting, and occasionally, what we get isn’t sellable – it’s scrap. JUNK. We no likey.

I’m into recycling where wearable things are concerned, but I’m not really a conservationist by nature. Kate, in contrast, is eco-conscious to the point of snipping the paper prices off our garments as they sell so she can reuse the tags later.

When I find vintage scrap metal lurking in my jewelry shipments – mismatched earrings, bits of chain, busted clasps, random rhinestones, etc. – I bag it up and mail it back to the seller for a discount on the next order.When Kate gets her hands on it, it’s a different story… one in which the scrap becomes something else altogether.That is not a necklace. That is fucking ART.

I can’t help but be inspired by Kate’s recycling prowess. I’m a salvaged jewelry amateur, but if I can make something half as amazing as the badass layered charm necklace pictured, I’m willing to give it a go. Let’s hope our next order has a few Russell Stovers ripe for experimentation.

Cheers to scrap metal, cliches and upcycled awesomeness.