When it comes to vintage jewelry, it’s tough to introduce something truly unique to the market–there’s only so many Lulu Frosts that can exist in the world. But when we came across Asheville, North Carolina-based designer Amber Hatchett, we sat up and took notice.
All of her pieces are handmade, and she crafts them all from repurposed vintage pieces she finds at estate sales, vintage shops, and other random locations near the eclectic town of Asheville. Some of her favorite materials: bullet casings, porcupine quills, vintage crystals, and (more recently) military-inspired pendants.
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Amber takes a lot of her inspiration from her mother, Darlene Hatchett, who is an accomplished sculpture artist whose work has been featured in installations for huge brands like American Eagle and Nordstrom.
“With my mom being a creative inspiration for me, I knew I was destined to do something artistic,” Amber says. “I knew that creativity was in me. I was just reading a magazine one day and there was an article about this lady who was taking old vintage pieces and using them on statement necklaces, like charms. That’s where the idea started, and it just evolved from there.”
One of Amber’s signatures is that she creates the chains for her necklaces piece-meal, using chunks of chain from old vintage necklaces. “Looking at other jewelry artists along the way, you know, it can often be a really interesting piece at the end of the necklace, but sometimes it’s kind of a blah statement around the neck,” Amber explains. “It’s a patchwork type design that I like to do, and it gives you a little something to see around the next instead of the usual plain chain.
Every piece Amber makes is completely one-of-a-kind, partially a result of the uniqueness of each piece she uses. And at a range of $24 to $290, her pieces are super approachable, too.
Check her out: Etsy.com
All photos: Courtesy of Amber Hatchett
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