Hand Beaded Jewelry by Patrizia Tager

Patrizia Tager, or Triz, discovered the world of beadwork when her son turned one and started day-care a couple of times a week. "I just needed to get out of the house! And, I wanted to do something creative, so I enrolled myself into four classes at my local bead shop, and fell in love with this medium. I started buying every magazine and books available and sat at home for a whole year learning new techniques and stitches." Triz is a single mother, who lives in Israel with her son who is almost five years old, and her two dogs. One is a 12 yr old rescued dog named Kaya, and a newly rescued 2 month old puppy she named Houdini. She has a B.A. in fashion design, but designing jewelry has become her career.

Not only she is busy taking care of her trio, but she is constantly creating new designs. Not just for her jewelry line, but for birthday gifts for her two sisters. Her family is very important to her. She named her son after her dearest cousin Marc, who was killed in a plane crash in 1988 that left 270 people dead. In a recent posting dedicated to him, she writes "I named my son after you. I hope he grows up to be half the man you were....your smile... your warmth, your compassion, your generosity, your joie de vivre, your friendship, your jokes and yes, even your pranks, are the things I miss the most.... you were definitely too good for this world... and I really hope you are in a better place, otherwise nothing makes sense...."

Triz recently started piano lessons, something she's been wanting to try since she was little. "I used to have lots of hobbies: tennis, karate, yoga, swimming, and photography. But that was before I got hooked on beading jewelry!" As most artists and craftspeople who love their work, Triz is more than passionate about her craft, it's on her mind 24/7. Visit her blog to see additional works HERE. And, her Etsy site HERE.

Images used with consent from Patrizia Tager.

Jewelry Created from PET Bottles by Gülnur Ozdaglar

Gülnur Ozdaglar lives in Ankara, Turkey, and is an architect by trade. Architecture, however, is not her only area of expertise. Gülnur also designs remarkable jewelry. Remarkable because of it's beauty, yes, but also because of it's concept and the material from which they are made. Her delicate and sculptural pieces are created from PET bottles. Specifically, recycled plastic drinking bottles. You know, the kind that is filling up our garbage cans AND our landfills?

The concept is simple. Gülnur collects plastic bottles. In fact, all her friends and neighbors do the same. The bottom portion of the large plastic bottles becomes the material for the bowls she also creates, the remaining parts are used for her jewelry. The construction is simple. She cuts the plastic into pieces according to her design, forms them with heat, pierces them with a soldering iron, and arranges them to suit her creation. However, the design and aesthetics are not simple. For that, you would have to be Gülnur. After all, it is her artistic sensibility and designing skills that go into each piece of hand crafted brooch, necklace, or earrings.

We all know, or should be aware, of our growing environmental issues. Our planet is being bombarded with synthetic "material" that can be recycled and transformed into reusable products, instead of wasting space and potentially harming the environment and our health. And, that is what Gülnur is doing one piece of beautiful jewelry and art bowl at a time.

Visit her blog to see more of her craft HERE. And, her Etsy site HERE. And, Gülnur has been generous enough to create a tutorial on how to make an art bowl from PET bottles. You can find her instructions HERE. ~Jewelry construction from Gülnur Ozdaglar

Images of jewelry copyrighted by Gülnur Ozdaglar, and posted with consent.