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Radical Jewelry Makeover is a fun, informed and creative alternative to traditional mining practices and jewelry production. It's a traveling community mining and recycling project in which jewelers and metalsmiths gain experience producing innovative jewelry from recycled sources.

This is how it works. The public is asked to "mine" their homes, "uncovering" gold, silver, and jewelry of all types and materials. They deposit their "lode" at a designated place in the host city. Teams of volunteer jewelers and metalsmiths working together at schools and studios reconstruct and transform the donations into exciting new jewelry. The resulting fresh, unique, handmade, 100% recycled jewelry is then exhibited and offered for sale to the public. Jewelry donors receive discount coupons and sales benefit Ethical Metalsmiths' efforts to inform and connect people with responsibly sourced materials.

Christina Miller, Ethical Metalsmiths co-founder, designed the project along with metalsmith, Susie Ganch. The first Radical Jewelry Makeover took place in Richmond, Virginia and the second in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Radical Jewelry Makeover Blog

Previous Radical Jewelry Makeovers

Richmond, Virginia — February/March 2007
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Lancaster, Pennsylvania — October/November 2007