car parts never looked so good

Meet Catherine Ivins of Olive Bites Studios in Farmingdale, New Jersey.  She is the clever gal who had the vision of turning a car part, button pin top and magnet into a fashion-forward green interchangable necklace.

I had the chance to chat with her about her crafty talents…

What inspired you to start creating your art and how did you turn it into a business?

I have always been making things out of found and repurposed items. I remember my poor mother having to carry around a pocketbook made of a plastic baggie I had glued hot pink feathers to, for months. I want to live simply and use things in multiple ways. People would ask me to make things for them that I had made for myself and my family and that was the seed that began my little studio.

What do you enjoy most about the creative process?

By far, the initial stages of creating something when it is new and exciting. My dream would be to spend my days creating new things; each unique and one of a kind. But in the practical terms of making a living by creating; time must be spent perfecting (not in the sense of seeking perfection but just in a general sense of making things as long lasting, beautiful and useful as possible) and then, of course fabricating and then the dreaded ‘s’ word- selling. But it is all part of the process and I really do enjoy it all.
What is one thing that make your items unique?

I always seek to repurpose and recycle things in beautiful ways. Making something that might at first appear cold or harsh or industrial into something more- allowing people to see it in another way.

Most of the steel we are using today has been recycled and almost all of it will be recycled again. My steel lockets are made from a little auto part (most cars have several). Steel being magnetic it allows me to create many different locket lids, creating many different looks for the user and enabling us to do more with less. Doing more with less, using sustainable, recycled and industrial materials are what I am committed to and what I believe makes my items unique.

Since there are loads of different options, we only offer Catherine’s work at our Berkley & Rochester locations.  Each necklace set comes with 3 interchangeable faces and is packaged in a handy storage tin.

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