The Sustainable Jewelry and Endurable Friendship of Kelley Hollis
Berkley artist makes the world sparkle with refashioned vintage jewelry and good old-fashioned friendship
Reading time: 3 minutes
I need to tell you about my friend Kelley. Kelley lives in Berkley, and as you already know, I live in Seattle. So, we’re—what is it?—800 miles apart. After my mom died, though, she wrapped my spirit in her warmth and friendship, and it felt like we were in the same room. She asked questions about my mom and my memories of her. She let me ramble on but didn’t make me feel like I was rambling. She made me feel cared for. Anyone who has ever lost a loved one knows what a gift that is.
Then Kelley took the gift further. A week or two after our online conversation, a box arrived on my doorstep. Inside was a glittering button encased in gold, dangling from a delicate chain. There was also a note from her explaining how the button is meant to honor my eternal connection with my mom, a symbol of the love of sewing that she and I shared. Whenever I wear it or even glance at it in my jewelry box, I think of my mom, and I think of Kelley. And I always give thanks for both.
As you may have already figured out, Kelley is a sustainable jewelry artist who understands the impact symbols can have on people. She starts with a vintage piece of jewelry and restores it to reflect its past while making it stylish for today. Before she’s done, each piece becomes a one-of-a-kind work of art with deep meaning for her as well as for the wearer.
She loves that her art connects with people in these ways. She seems to live for it. In a recent online conversation I had with her, she told me that sometimes, people fall in love with a piece because it represents a way they want to feel, like a tiger's strength and ferocity, and sometimes, a piece connects them to a favorite person or place. “I like to say that each piece is as unique and beautiful as you,” she told me.
The seed of Kelley’s love for vintage jewelry was planted playing in her grandmother’s jewelry box, but her art really took root when she needed a practical way to make screw-back earrings stay put—she refitted them with posts. From there, she started turning brooches into necklaces and delicate buttons into earrings. Sometimes, she combines two different earrings or a pendant and a brooch to create whole new looks. But she always strives to honor each piece with the highest quality gold and silver in her designs.
Vanity Fair London featured Kelley’s work in two issues of their magazine in 2021, recognizing her commitment to quality, sustainable accessories. She was also the featured artist at a showcase at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco, where her vibrant layered necklace, Metamorphosis, was among her displayed works.
My little Substack newsletter is nothing compared to Vanity Fair or a prestigious museum, but I adore Kelley and her artwork. She is a true artist—a true sustainable artist—creating whole new wearable works of art by hand from the mod, the rad, and the stunning of yesterday. And she’s a real human being who is kind, thoughtful, and knows how to be a friend. I simply felt the need to introduce her to all of you.
Find Kelley and view her treasures on her website, Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.
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Thank you so much—you are amazing!