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Wednesday 10 November 2021

Beautiful Necklaces from Recycled Beads

 

Gail Hanlon from Is This Mutton in multi-strand pearl necklace hand made by Jovanka Ristich of Bijou Rebooted

Dear friends. Today I'm thrilled to introduce you to Jovanka Ristich who makes the most stunning jewellery  (jewelry to my US friends) from recycled beads and gemstones.

Regular readers will know that I'm very partial to a statement necklace. On a tonal outfit, or on bare skin, these add real drama. Jovanka, whose brand is called Bijou Rebooted, kindly gifted me two stunners which I'm showing you here.

Close-up of the multi strand pearl necklace worn by Is This Mutton's Gail Hanlon. The necklace is from Bijou Rebooted, a Canterbury company which makes new necklaces from old beads

First up is a multi-strand pearl necklace which I absolutely love. Pearls look beautiful on all women because their lustre casts flattering reflections against the skin.  I chose black and white to showcase the necklace:  a skirt and polka dot jacket, both from M&S and old, and a top from Kettlewell.

The idea of creating stunning new pieces from old, forgotten jewellery also appeals.  Says Jovanka:  "Every woman has a drawer or box filled with unwanted, discarded, broken or unloved jewellery. Looking at it lying neglected in the dark evokes varying degrees of guilt. So, having someone who will gladly accept it, and re-purpose it, makes them happy."

The pearl necklace took many hours to make.  Jovanka says:  "Once I had the idea in my head, and enough beads to work with, physically creating it took several hours as each pearl is interspersed with tiny beads, each of a different colour."

So I can be sure that this necklace is unique! 

New Necklaces from Old 

One of Jovanka's recent customers gave her a variety of tangled up necklaces, bracelets, earrings and other items, some of which were broken and others which had never been worn.  Many had sentimental value and she was sad to leave them sitting in a box or drawer, not necessarily unwanted, but unworn nevertheless. 

She was delighted with the results. "I gave Jovanka carte blanche to use the pieces in any way that inspired her. I was blown away with the results.  They could easily have come from an upmarket boutique or vintage dress shop, not from the depths of my dressing table drawers."

My second choice is a multi-layered necklace in shades of green, worn here with a Kettlewell Rachel jacket in alpine green, t-shirt in ice pink, bag from Cambridge Satchel Company and culottes from Hope (old).  The velvet boots came from LightintheBox last winter. 

Multi-strand necklace in shades of green made by Bijou Rebooted from recycled beads and worn by blogger Gail Hanlon from Is This Mutton

Jovanka is happy to create bespoke necklaces in particular colour ways  (important for my Kettlewell Colour Club friends!).  "How long it would take is another thing. It all depends on what I have in my bead boxes at any given time. But, if someone wanted a specific colour, and I didn’t have it, I could set about tracking down beads from charity shops. But in principle anything is possible. I’m always up for a challenge!

"Only this week a lady brought in a vintage pendant that was her grandmother’s,  asking me to create a beaded necklace to complement it. She wants to gift this to her adult daughter as a Christmas present. She didn’t want to give her the pendant on its own, yet felt it deserved more than a simple chain. It’s very flattering to be tasked with this commission. I’m excited to see what I come up with."

Shades of green, brown and cream in a multi-strand necklace made from recycled beads by Bijou Rebooted. Worn by style blogger Gail Hanlon from Is This Mutton

Both of Jovanka's parents were creative: her mother was mother was skilled at sewing, knitting and needlecraft, and her father could turn his hand to anything, from making built-in cupboards from scratch to landscaping the garden. 

The urge to re-use and recycle was instilled in her from a young age. Jovanka says: "Making use of what we had, or in today’s terminology “upcycling”, was always something we did.  It was a combination of relishing the challenge as well as saving money. 

"For me the idea of changing something I had, and perhaps didn’t like, into something I did like, was second nature. I started by painting my bedroom furniture and adapting my clothes. Redesigning my jewellery was a natural progression."

Although I chose two multi-layered necklaces, Jovanka creates other diverse styles, examples of which are showcased here. In terms of cost, prices range from £24 to £68  ($32 to $91). 

The necklace with the large turquoise coloured pendant (bottom right) began life as a belt buckle. Top left, a new style category for Jovanka called 'delicate', featuring smaller items. This one has a glass pendant featuring a flower at its heart. If you look closely you will also see that whilst the faux pearl necklace appears to be the same all the way along, each side is actually interspersed with slightly different coloured small beads.

Jovanka loves to surprise, and a lack of symmetry in some necklaces is one example. She likes placing  different beads on either side of a pendant, and describes it as something of her signature style.  You can see this done to great effect in several of the necklaces. 

How to Find Bijou Rebooted


You can find Jovanka on Instagram, where she sells her one-of-a-kind-pieces:  https://www.instagram.com/bijourebooted/  Email:  bijourebooted@gmail.com

She is happy to ship internationally and  will supply a no obligation shipping-quote.  Her packaging is also made from recycled materials.

If you're in the South East of England, you'll find Jovanka's jewellery in Canterbury Makers in the Canterbury Marlowe Arcade, and in The Walrus & Oyster Emporium in Burgate.  She also trades at  indoor craft fairs to sell her work.  A regular fair is at Westgate Hall in Canterbury. If you know of any good craft fairs, let Jovanka know, as she's willing to travel to showcase her work. 

It was a pleasure meeting Jovanka and I love seeing her latest creations on Instagram.  I've got a couple of necklaces which are broken - one has amber beads, bought in Denmark, and the other is from the 1930s.  I'm going to donate them to Jovanka and look forward to seeing them in future necklaces on her site. 

Disclosure:  I was gifted two necklaces by Bijou Rebooted in return for writing an objective and honest blog post.  Nothing else was gifted and no affiliate links were used. 

Sharing this post with: On Mondays We Link Up at Glass of Glam, Top of the World Style at High Latitude Style, Chic & Stylish at Mummabstylish, #SpreadTheKindness at Shelbee on the Edge, Thursday Moda at Elegance and Mommyhood, Turning Heads Tuesday at Elegantly Dressed and Stylish,  Style with a Smile  at StylesplashTFF at Doused in Pink, Lizzie in Lace Confident Twosday at IDoDeclaireRena at Fine WhateverFabulous Fridays at Lucy Bertoldi, #Neverendingstyle at The Grey Brunette #TheWednesdayLinkUp at Claire JustineFancy Friday at Nancy's Fashion StyleHappiness is Homemade at Life as a Leo Wife#AnythingGoes at My Random Musings

If Jovanka was to create a bespoke necklace for you, what would it look like?  Colour, style, length. Do let us know in the comments. 


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1 comment

  1. What a original idea! I immediately checked her site of course, what a beautiful colourful necklaces! The next time we are in the UK, when will that ever be, I will definitely visit her in Canterbury!

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