Upcycled Chic- Jewelry By Jacqueline Ter Kuile

Jacqueline Ter Kuile

Jacqueline ter Kuile has been making beautiful  hand-crafted jewelry for more than 30 years. Precious metals like silver and copper are her specialty.   She has an impressive resume and her work speaks for itself. A look at the photos below will give you an idea of why Jackie’s work is increasingly in demand.

What you won’t see in the photos is anything that gives away the fact that, in addition to sterling silver and sheet copper, Jackie has begun incorporating recycled metal strips from vintage tins into elegant pendants, earrings, and necklaces.   This is recycling in the hands of a superb crafts-person and the result is an upcycling that creates a new piece that is much more than the sum of its parts. Jacqueline ter Kuile’s work is the ultimate in upcycled chic

It all started with an interesting looking olive oil container whose textures and colors called out to Jackie. Then came a biscuit tin. Now,  she is  always on the lookout for unique  metal containers which can be cut into interesting textured shapes, backed with solid copper and incorporated into  fabulous adornments for  necks, wrists, and ears.

The upcycle bug bit, says Jackie, when she found the prices of silver and copper escalating quickly and wanted to use something else to expand her artistic vision while keeping the cost of materials affordable. That’s when she ran into an empty stamped metal tin, whose colors and designs fascinated her and she decided to use it as a substitute for silver in a piece she was working on.  It was a great success and the re-purposing has become a quest in its own right, as well as something that has led Jackie in a new creative direction.

Jackie works from a studio in New Hope, Pennsylvania, and her designs can be found in select area craft galleries and boutiques, most notably, The River Queen Artisans Gallery in Lambertville, New Jersey.  Happily, she also has a website, where you can check out more of her work, contact her and even purchase or commission specific pieces online.

upcycled metal hearts backed with copper

36" of sterling silver with bright recycled tin on the front and shiny copper on the back.

From olive oil tin to Peace symbol backed with copper for strengh and heft

The intricate textures of Dutch tile patterns grace the surfaces of this collection.

Silver and copper alchemy. Photo courtesy of Pennsylvania Guild of Crafts on Flickr, Thanks

Jackie relaxing on the beach with her best friend