Heirloom Jewelry, Reimagined.

When you hear the word “heirloom” most people instantly go to jewelry in their head. It’s one of the most common things to pass down, whether you have many treasures from your collection or not someone always wants the diamonds or pearls to carry on.

They’re timeless, classic but let’s not forget the most important component to heirloom – they’re meaningful pieces that have been passed down through the generations.

I’ve been talking a lot about jewelry this week, sharing my redo of a mechanics chest turned jewelry box and every now and then I give a peek inside my own jewelry box to share some of the treasures that have been passed down to me. I have even started including just a few pieces of jewelry in our Vintage Goods assortment.

Today I’m sharing an amazing collaboration with designer Emily Maynard of Elva Fields, and I couldn’t be more excited. Her business, like mine, was inspired by the generations of her family which is present in everything from her brand name to each of her collections, and even her studio location in Louisville, KY has a tie to her family history.

Another thing that instantly drew me to Elva Fields, beyond the gorgeousness of the jewelry itself was the very apparent inspiration of vintage designs and use of vintage materials. And you’ll see why here in a second ….

Through the collaboration, Emily included me as part of her wonderful “Leading Ladies Series” that asks the question we all love to hear, What’s in your Jewelry Box? Emily took this question one step further and turned it into an actual product (that you’re going to love).

What’s in your Jewelry Box is a new program where you scour through your own box, searching for parts and pieces of jewelry that perhaps you never wear or has been damaged in some way and needs a little freshening up design wise. Can’t find anything? Not to worry, you can always hit up your local thrift store or Emily can even suggest or source some pieces for you.

I was fortunate to have quite a few options to choose from, including a bundle of brass beads from my Mother’s necklace that was broken many years ago, a broach from my Grandmother, and parts from an emerald green cocktail necklace that was my Great Grandmothers by had broken at some point over the years. I shipped them off to Elva Fields to take a look and work some magic.

You can scroll through part of the design process below to see the pieces I sent and how Emily took these, combined new elements and literally transformed them before my eyes. I cannot get over the design work.

I could hardly choose which direction to go from the initial first-round designs she sent over because each of them was fabulous and also so special to see these otherwise forgotten treasures brought back to life. And in such a current way.

The design I ended up choosing was one I think I’ll wear the most, using the brass beads Emily combined other mixed metals in similar hues with hints of gold and other metallics. I love the selection of beads she paired with my originals and how she thoughtfully mixed the shapes and sizes. The biggest surprise to me was the gold chain she chose for the neck, unexpected and the perfect hint of vintage. I am in love.

I also love how she transformed the length of the necklace to be perfectly placed. What she didn’t know was this bundle of broken beads was once a cluster necklace that sat rather tightly around your neck in a twisty kind of way. I loved the originally necklace and I love what it has become today.

I so highly recommend you pop over and check out the details of What’s in your Jewelry Box and give it a try for yourself. I’d LOVE to see what heirloom pieces you are sending in to be transformed!

I asked Emily to share more about her inspiration behind her designs and the new WIYJB program and I love what she had to say …

“Because we incorporate vintage and antique materials in our designs, they have an heirloom quality about them. Our customers would often remark that their grandmother had a similar brooch they remembered from childhood or that they now owned a set of beads from their great aunt just like those featured in one of our necklaces, and they’d occasionally lament that they never seemed to find a way to wear and enjoy the inherited jewelry.

Though the pieces weren’t inherently valuable (being costume) they held deep sentimental value, and it seemed such a shame that they were left unworn in a jewelry box somewhere. I was given my great-grandmother Elva Fields’s jewelry box some years ago, and in sorting through and sharing some of the jewelry with my daughters, it occurred to me that we could help our customers enjoy their forgotten treasures in a fresh and fun way by featuring them in a new design–out of the jewelry box and into their present-day life!”