We just received a package of something really special and beautiful, something we've never seen before, so we hope you all are just as excited about these as we are. The package in question contained these stunning hand embroidered recycled rings made by Michelle Kendrick from Chicago.
She thought of the idea last winter when she was in a fibers/fashion studio class while getting her masters in art therapy at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. One of her projects was to buy a trench coat from a thrift shop and completely reconstruct it so that it was unrecognizable. She really enjoyed this process and started looking for other items to reuse. Rings were her first choice, but being so busy in school she was only able to make a few sketches of ideas and there they sat in her sketchbook for several months until summer came and she made a few and wore them around. People seemed to like them, so a few weeks ago she made a website and the rest is history!
Michelle explained to me that there is a ritualistic element to the making of these rings. She has a little silver bowl in her living room where she keeps all the finished rings. Each time she finishes one, she drops it in the bowl, hears the clink, and then knows it's time to move on to the next one. She even has some photos on her site of the little silver bowl with rings in them.
She thought of the idea last winter when she was in a fibers/fashion studio class while getting her masters in art therapy at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. One of her projects was to buy a trench coat from a thrift shop and completely reconstruct it so that it was unrecognizable. She really enjoyed this process and started looking for other items to reuse. Rings were her first choice, but being so busy in school she was only able to make a few sketches of ideas and there they sat in her sketchbook for several months until summer came and she made a few and wore them around. People seemed to like them, so a few weeks ago she made a website and the rest is history!
Michelle explained to me that there is a ritualistic element to the making of these rings. She has a little silver bowl in her living room where she keeps all the finished rings. Each time she finishes one, she drops it in the bowl, hears the clink, and then knows it's time to move on to the next one. She even has some photos on her site of the little silver bowl with rings in them.
In addition to this unique ring concept, Michelle also has a company called Strong Girl Inc. This company is more on the art therapy side of Michelles interests. She started a program that she will be running out of a public school this coming school year called the Strong Girl Arts Club. It's basically introducing adolescent girls to artwork by female contemporary artists, and then having them make projects based on the topics and style of their work, all with a focus on self esteem building. If you want more info on this project check it out at: http://stronggirl.org/
www.recycledrings.com
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