Little Purple Cow Jewelry, Mining The Past For Inspiration

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jun 29th 2010 at 10:01PM

What could be seen as junk gets a new life in the eyes of Nicole Joy Leibman, the designer behind the jewelry brand Little Purple Cow. Leibman, a former intellectual property attorney, found inspiration for a new business while rummaging in the dusty boxes in her family's basement. Old cabinet handles and fork tines sparked her imagination and Nicole decided she wanted to offer customized jewelry transformed from personal heirlooms and keepsakes- a key to a childhood diary, grandmother's antique silverware, a silver baby cup, and vintage typewriter bars could all be crafted into necklaces, rings and bracelets. The pieces are hand-finished and cast in sterling silver and custom pieces can be based on all sorts of heirlooms that might otherwise be relegated to storage and languish in obscurity forever.

Little Purple Cow sells lines based on treasures from long ago. The antique collection gets inspiration from hotel keys, skeleton keys and tiny diary keys. The humble and nearly forgotten typewriter is the base of the Printing Press collection that uses type-bar "arms" to form the a bib necklace or a pendant.

The company's first line was inspired by a collection of antique silverware and the classic spoon ring and spoon cuff. Spoon rings have a long history. It is believed that they originated in 17th century England when enterprising servants stole silverware to create wedding rings. Sailors would also steal silverware from the galley to fashion pieces to send to their sweethearts back home. In the Little Purple Cow Story Book collection, rings with fairy-tale-inspired handles become sweetly sentimental rings. Little Purple Cow jewelry is sold in specialty boutiques and on online at: www.littlepurplecow.com with prices ranging from $45- $320.

Tags: jewelry, silver jewelry, spoon rings, typewriter

Filed under: Jewelry

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Deborah-Eve Jun 29th 2010 11:46PM

Beautiful and creative! Love this high end repurposing which once again proves that luxury and treasures don't always have to be new. Love the idea of actually using an heirloom and enjoying it more than just once in a while.