It has been a great week here at The Broken Plate! I completed 4 fabulous custom wedding orders and received my advance copy of this summer’s ReadyMade Magazine, featuring my coasters! To top it all off, I am proud to announce that my work is now available, in my favorite shop, Red Tree in Hamden!
Now off to enjoy a show-free 3 day weekend. Please visit my friends at Handmade Mart this weekend! I am hoping to make it out there to ATTEND my first craft show, not as a vendor. ohhh, exciting.
 
 
 

When Coleen of the Howard County Arts Council asked me to create a recycled plate purse for the Power of the Purse auction for The Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County, I was extremely honored and said yes right away. Two minutes later, I thought, how the hell do you make a purse out of recycled china? After a few brain storming sessions, I decided on making a stained glass style purse out of broken plates. I jumped in head first and quickly realized that that was not my best plan. Suddenly …

Sorry for being M.I.A. but I have been feverishly working on a top secret project. In the mean time, I have been doing a lot of experimentation with the possibilities of recycled plate crafts. Some of my new favorites are these new rings and cuff links made out of crushed plate in resin. It is a not-so-literal version of a broken plate ring that is sure to be a conversation piece. They are now available in my Etsy Shop!

I am so excited to finally announce that I am now offering custom 1.5″ ceramic pendants made from your photos! You can now have ANY photo, piece of artwork, or design turned into ceramic jewelry. Imagine the possibilities! They make great gifts for grandparents, bridesmaids, teachers or yourself. You can even get your child’s artwork turned into jewelry. Feel free to contact me with any questions or ideas!
This process is not a decal. It is a continuous tone photographic image process that actually becomes part of the tile. These super sturdy pendants …

I often say that my pendants are only as nice as the plate that they originally came from. Nothing illustrates this more then this set made from a broken platter by Little Flower Designs. It would be impossible to make something ugly from this plate! =)
At a recent craft show, an unforutate gust of wind came and blew this lovely floral platter to the ground, breaking it into pieces. I felt bad for poor Linda, but was a bit excited to get my hands on the shards!
With permission from the …

With some inspiration from Annie’s Vintage Bead Boutique, I have decided to open my new Esty shop, JustPlates, to share some of my plate stock with the world! I can only break so many plates, people. Here I will post plates that are either too cute to break, collectible, or came in too large a quantity for my jewelry. All plates are available for purchase or are available for custom jewelry orders.
I will slowly be adding lots of plates to the shop. Stay Tuned

I feel like I am constantly apologizing for my lack of posts here, but the truth is that I am sparing you from the boring reality of the plate breaking business. Break, solder, polish, post, ship, design t-shirt, repeat… You get the point. Not much to blog about, so here are some fun things to do this weekend… 
Sweet Pepita Trunk Show
Philadelphia City Paper’s Trunk Show
Bust Craftacular
Pee Wee in Patterson Park
Preakness!
The Chesapeak Bay Blues Fest
Wine in the Woods
The next show for me is Art Star in Philly on May 30-31, cross your fingers for …

Thank you for considering The Broken Plate Pendant Co. to break your plate!

Please join BEST members at the 8th annual American Visionary Art Museum’s Bridal Happy Hour!
Thursday April 2nd, 5:30-7:30. Enjoy food and cocktails and view work by some of Baltimore’s best wedding vendors. And best of all, it’s free!
Why go handmade for your wedding?? There are many reasons!
-Have custom jewelry, paper goods and spa gifts created that are as a special as your wedding.
-Support local and woman owned businesses.
-Many BEST artists use sustainable and green materials in their work.
-Give your wedding a handmade touch that is unique.
-Show your bridal party and …

I have so much I am working on today, but I had to stop and share this photograph, because I could not believe that I just set a stone in a plate. See, I did remember some of the silversmithing that I was taught!
Don’t forget the ACC is this weekend! Tickets have been discounted, so you have no excuse to not come. Stop by and see 700+ craft artists from around the country, including some of my favorite local AltCraft artists. My soldering demo will be on Sunday @ 3:30!
See a full list …

So much for my super productive week. I feel like all of the forces have been conspiring against me. I only have 2 days to work, Tuesday and Thursday, when Nolan is at school. Last week, I got a stomach bug on Tuesday and on Thursday, I worked in the am, then had the nerve to take an hour lunch with Tya. When I came back I had no power, I guess that is what I get. Today, Nolan has a cold and did not go to school. ugh.
To make myself feel …

I have been privileged to do a few awesome custom orders this week, I just had to share a before and after of one of them with you. This one of a kind mug by Jezze, an Etsy Artist from Cape Town South Africa, was sent to me by my customer Chakra Pennywhistle (who also has an awesome Etsy Shop!) who was heartbroken after recieving it broken in the mail. Luckily she thought of me, and I got to work my magic with the pieces. it is so fulfilling for me to make …

Sorry I have been a bit quiet lately, I am having the hardest time getting over the holiday burnout. I have been busy working on some custom orders and working on getting more custom work. I have added a page to this site for people who are interested in getting custom jewelry from recycled china here.
In other news, I have been asked by the American Craft Council show to do a demo of my process at the show in the Convention Center this February! I am a bit nervous about …

I was recently contacted through Etsy by an editor of Brides.com about doing a post on my work! I was so excited to see the post is finally up! I am working on getting some print press in bridal magazines, so stay tuned for that!
If you know any stressed out brides, please pass on my site. Despite their bad reputation, I have found that working with brides, is quite pleasant!
More press announcements to come…

Thanks to Erik for sharing some awesome photos of his groomsmen, sporting broken plate cuff links at his wedding! I love doing fun custom orders for great customers! Thanks!
 
If you have photos of yourself in broken plate jewelry, please pass them on so I can share!

Introducing my new package for bridesmaids!