Walter designed this brooch for his wife Callie for Christmas last year. It is a very natural piece - the silver seed pod was made out of a sterling spoon and holds a cobalt blue beach glass jewel from the shores of Lake Erie.


Walter's sketch looked to me like it should be a fibula, so that the pin part would flow effortlessly from his graceful spiral design. He loved the Idea. The fibula is a style of brooch that dates back to ancient Rome, used to fasten cloaks. A common version survives today as the safety pin.

I created a modified wire wrapping technique to hold the baroque beach glass securely while still allowing light to pass through. The seed pod setting for the beach glass was made from a silver spoon. Both the beach glass and the setting were made from found objects.



I hammered the spiral from a thick piece of sterling silver, tapering it down to a sharp point for the pin. I wound a small spring in the pin part to create the tension needed to hold the pin in place when Callie is wearing it. I riveted the seed pod setting to the brooch. The 3 rivets are both functional and decorative. The last stage was polishing, which was a real challenge. The best part about making this piece was how happy Callie and Walter are. Thanks to both of you!