recycled junk jewellery: tower hamlets safety glass earrings

I've just started doing evening classes once a week in silversmithing and jewellery making at the community college in Bethnal Green, just for fun.

I plan to make a series of 13 pieces of jewellery - one representing each Inner City Borough of London, using items I find on the floor in each Borough.

The first piece is these Sterling Silver earrings made from chips of car glass from an accident next to a bus stop on Grove Road, Bow, Tower Hamlets, London.



It was my first time trying to use silver wire like this. I was hungover as hell, and they took about 2 hours to make, but if I did them again, it would would take much less time. Pretty pleased with the result, the safety glass really blings well - much brighter than I thought it would be.

These ones aren't for sale, but I could make a new pair if you want, or even something different. Any ideas for the next pieces also welcome.

PS
I found the silversmithing course via the Tower Hamlets Learning Ladder scheme which is brilliant, has a range of courses in all kinds of different stuff, from cooking to languages, and cheap too - a 10 week course is £85, compared to fees of £400+ for doing it at a name like St Martins.

recycled toy jewellery: bear head necklace

Edit: I've put this for sale on Etsy here, for 20USD or 10GBP. If you're in London, I'll deliver it to you too.



This is now piece number 5. An unwanted head from a toy bear, hand cut, finished and hand painted, with little costume jewellery blingy eyes. I hope to start selling more items like this as soon as I can find more plastic animals to mutilate.

recycled toy jewellery: triceratops de los muertos

Another dinosaur ring. For the first time, I'm quite pleased with the painting on this one.

recycled toy jewellery: dinosaur ring

I just finished making this for my friend's birthday. I don't think it's very practical, but it was fun to make and paint. Dayglo orange with nu-rave multicolored tiger stripes.



This is how it started life - as a small plastic heterodontosaurus from the Brick Lane car boot sale:



You can see more photos of it if you're interested here on Flickr.

I might try to make more and sell them on Etsy, but they are dreadfully time consuming and fiddly.

recycled toy jewellery: banana necklace

I have started making more things from discarded toys I have found in jumble and car boot sales. Banana necklace number one and its owner.



This is a banana necklace made from recycled toys found in car boot sales around london. It's 100% handcrafted and unique, made by ethnic labourer, in our hackney workshop.