Finding a Jewelry Niche Market with Recycled Materials
by Virginia Vivier.
It’s all our neighbor’s fault!
He gave us some boxes of “spent” brass bullet-shell cartridges and said, “You guys are creative, why don’t you make something with these?”
Bullet shell keyring
by EspritMystique
It seemed like fun challenge.
Little did we know, it would be the beginning of a full-time venture in making bullet jewelry.
We went to a weekend craft show and sold all the earrings, necklaces, key rings and pendants that we made from our neighbor’s used bullet shells.
And soon, we had orders for more bullet jewelry.
But now we were out of bullet shells!
We drove into town to see if we could BUY some shells simiar to the ones our neighbor had given us – and boy, were we in for a shock! They were expensive!
The shells came in all sizes, shapes and forms, but none were what we needed for our bullet jewelry designs. (Obviously, we had never owned, or shot, a gun of any kind.)
When the Sporting Goods store clerk saw our disappointment, he told told us about an off-road spot in the desert where gun enthusiasts go to practice target shooting.
He said the Rancher that lives near the open-range property was upset about the mess left behind and that he would probably be grateful if we picked up some of the shotgun litter.
So we packed up our dogs and trucked out to find this off-road, make-shift, shooting range in the desert. (It was Noon on a weekday and, luckily for us, no one was around!)
Bullet Shell Necklace by EspritMystique
We were amazed at the variety of bullet shells scattered all over on the ground. There were plastic shotgun shells and lead buckshot too, covering approximately 10 acres.
This poses a serious problem for birds and wildlife that might eat the lead shot. And, in the long run, it could contaminate groundwater and take years for the shells to recycle back into the earth.
Bullet Shell Beaded Bracelet by EspritMystique
We grabbed our shovels and went to work. Soon, the Rancher spotted our truck and stopped by to thank us for helping to clean up the litter!
We told him that if this worked out, we would be back for more.
We got home with a load of mucky, dirt-filled shells that took 3 days to clean, but with some serious elbow grease they reverted back to the shiny brass shells we needed.
We had to melt down some of shells that were badly bent. We recast those into new shapes for pendants.
Bullet Shell Beaded Bracelet by EspritMystique
We feel good about recycling old shells and keeping our deserts beautiful!
And, our customers are happy to find unique jewelry they can wear to show they care about cleaning up the environment.
Author Virginia Vivier of Esprit Mystique creates one-of-a-kind jewelry you can wear as a spirit catcher, a mysterious amulet, a celestial charm, or symbolic talisman, to hold your secrets near.
Virginia says: “We also create jewelry from pure brass bullet shells found in the deserts of Tucson, Arizona. It is our way of recycling these abandoned brass shells and offering them as wearable art. Some of the brass shells are used in their original form, and others are melted down and re-cast into mystical shapes.”
