Page 9 - Harnett Life Fall 2020

bits and pieces of vintage jewelry items she sources and puts beautiful vintage jewelry is found, she gets most excited when
them together to create new works of wearable art. She also she finds something old, in good condition and unique be-
handcrafts using brass stampings by soldering jewelry parts cause, as she explained, “the quality was so much better back
together — often as many as 40-60 units — to create one-of-a- then.”
kind sculptural designs, usually with a floral focus.
“The searching helps me find one-of-kind things no longer
“I love the shapes and forms of flowers and plants in nature,” produced that I can reuse and recreate into something new
she admits. “This fascinates me. I am also inspired by master- for my customers,” she said. “This recycling is also good for
ful work, such as the fine costume jewelry designs of Miriam Mother Earth.”
Haskell. I have been lucky enough to find some of her materi-
als such as brass stampings and pearls made for her line.” Wilson makes statement pieces — necklaces, earrings, brace-
lets, cuffed bangles and the like — working mostly with the
After creating a piece of jewelry, Wilson paints, distresses and semiprecious metals of brass and sterling and semiprecious
adds patina to the design to give it age — a look she nicknamed gemstones such as labradorite, turquoise and rose quartz. Oth-
the “tea-stained garden,” now Lulu Max’s signature semblance. er materials include vintage glass stones, Swarovski crystals
The old-world appearance is reminiscent of another place and and manufactured pearls such as those made in Japan in the
time, evocative of the early-to-mid-20th century. 1940s that she described as “the best and most beautiful manu-
factured pearls in the world.”
“Most of my beadwork is vintage,” she explained. “ I prefer
stock from the 1940s, and I have been lucky enough to find With nose to the grindstone or more literally, gemstone, Wil-
it in large quantities. Some markets deal entirely with vintage son devotes most of her year working on pieces to build inven-
costume jewelry, whether its complete pieces or the sale of tory for the big shows she regularly attends as a vendor. These
beads and individual parts. I get lucky enough to be able to events take her mostly to California — the bi-annual Glitter-
go through the warehouses of some of the really big names in fest, the spring Americana Fest and fall All Hallows Art Fest
costume jewelry, which are clearinghouses for this treasure.” — moved online this year — as well as shows in Petaluma
and Los Angeles. She recently added Jekyll Island, Georgia,
That’s where Wilson’s bounty hunting comes in. Buying from to her repertoire. She also sells online via Etsy and Facebook,
warehouses, storehouses, estate sales, yale sales and anywhere @lulumaxjewelry, as well as in stock at the White Trash and

Harnett Life ~ Fall 2020