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Jewelry artist Lori Rosenberger, at her home studio,
rifles through antique shops and flea markets looking for
precious china plates, cups and saucers that are broken,
chipped or glued.
CLEARWATER
Lori Rosenberger is an antique hunter. Along with other
avid collectors, she rifles through the shelves and tables
of antique shops and flea markets looking for precious
china plates, cups and saucers.
But Rosenberger won't be using her purchases on the
family dinner table.
"I look for things that are broken, chipped or glued,"
she said. "I want china too cracked to eat off of."
Since August 2006 when Rosenberger started her
business, Cracked Up Jewelry, the Clearwater mom of two
teenage sons has been smashing up already damaged china
and converting the fragments to bracelets, pendants,
earrings and hair ornaments, all encircled by lead-free
solder rims resembling sterling silver.
"I like the history of antiques," said Rosenberger, who
researches what she finds. "Some of my pieces date back to
the 18th century."
Using small antique windows, the artist's husband, Joe
Rosenberger, created display boxes to hold the jewelry
items, many in the floral patterns commonly found on china
a century or more ago. He accompanies his wife to shows
most weekends and even several times a year to Georgia.
The unusual jewelry business evolved unexpectedly, Lori
Rosenberger said.
She had been collecting favorite patterns of old china
for more than 20 years when she decided to turn some of
the broken pieces into jewelry for herself. Friends
suggested she try selling it.
Rosenberger liked the idea and a flurry of work soon
began in her garage and a small bedroom upstairs. She
developed a website, www.crackedupjewelry.com, to sell the
items online. She then joined the ranks of many others
already on the art show circuit, setting up a booth at
most Florida shows.
Individual items vary in price, depending on the age
and type of china as well as the intricacy of the design.
A cuff bracelet made of floral vintage china costs $65; a
butterfly pendant is $125. Earrings and rings start at
around $32.
Rosenberger recently expanded her line. Cuff bracelets
fashioned from segments of old belts are adorned with oval
or round fragments of antique china. She makes whimsical
chandeliers for kitchens and dining rooms as well, using
old tea cups to hold light bulbs in fixtures. Chandeliers
run about $150.
In the upstairs workroom are the tools of her unusual
trade: stacks of damaged china, a small saw, strips of
copper foil, lead-free solder and writing implements.
Rosenberger sketches a design onto the china, cuts it out
with the saw and smooths the edges. Next she applies the
strips of copper foil around the rim of the item. She then
melts the solder, applies it to the foil, and a piece of
jewelry is made.
Cracked china is not hard to come by. Rosenberger has
acquired a store of it from viewers of her website as well
as from visitors to the weekend shows.
"People call or write from all over the country," she
said. "They send me their broken china and I make jewelry
for them."
Making keepsakes from family heirlooms has become a
great source of joy to Rosenberger. At the recent Dunedin
Art Harvest, a woman approached her in tears. She had just
broken her late mother's china, which she was carrying in
the trunk of her car, in a minor accident. Rosenberger
came to the rescue.
"I got some sample pieces from her to look at and think
about," Rosenberger said. She immediately envisioned a
curved necklace from the rim of one blue and white plate.
"I love being able to turn someone's broken keepsake
into a piece they can treasure," she said. "Helping
someone keep their treasured china in a different form is
one of my greatest joys."
>>Fast facts
To learn more
To view Rosenberger's original art, see her website,
www.crackedupjewelry.com.
For information, email her at
lori@crackedupjewelry.com.
Rosenberger's art also can be seen Saturday from 10
a.m. until 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at
the Palm Harbor Chamber of Commerce Art Festival in
historic downtown Palm Harbor along Florida Avenue.
A bracelet: Lori Rosenberger makes the jewelry from
pieces of broken or chipped china. In business since 2006,
she says, “I want china too cracked to eat off of.”
A ring: Rings and earrings start around $32. Prices
vary, depending on the age and type of china as well as
the intricacy of the design.
A butterfly necklace: Pendants are available, too
A necklace: Rosenberger also makes whimsical chandeliers.
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