Audio By Carbonatix
It’s been a long, strange trip for Chicago native Amelia Deleon and her Stranded Jewelry collection, which lands at Illiterate Gallery to-day for its first trunk show. The line got its start when Deleon began re-stringing necklaces to fit her petite frame. Compliments from friends convinced her to market the unique mix of pearls, jewels, gold and semi-precious stones — mostly salvaged jewelry from the 1920s to the 1970s, with some entirely new pieces here and there.
When she was working in New Mexico, her reclaimed, one-of-a-kind vintage necklaces and bracelets were picked up by a reputable catalogue. “I thought, this is my big break,” Deleon remembers. But six months later, the catalogue company folded and Deleon found herself in debt and disillusioned. But she regrouped, selling her designs out of her house through once-a-year holiday gatherings that turned into sold-out events, with lines forming outside her front door.
Here in Denver, Deleon has found a more permanent home for her work at Mona Lucero, the hip Highland boutique that sells the re-claimed jewelry — which starts at $35 and also includes custom-made bridal sets — year-round.
Still, Deleon will celebrate the memory of those successful seasonal showings that brought her business back with the Stranded Jewelry Trunk Show, which runs from 1 to 6 p.m. today at Illiterate, 82 South Broadway. For more information, call Stranded Jewelry at 720-984-6007 or go to www.strandedjewelry.com.
Sat., Nov. 20, 1-6 p.m., 2010
