Vintage Back Talk:: Rachael Brooke Designs

Hello friends! Today I am thrilled to share with you an interview with artist Rachael Brooke of Rachael Brooke Designs. She not only is going to share her beautiful vintage upcycled jewelry with you today, but she is also offering 1 GoatNotes reader a chance to win $40 to her Etsy Shop! (See Giveaway Below). But, enough chat. Let's hear what Racheal has to say.

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In Rachael's words:

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I’m Rachael Brooke Winkley and I’m a jewelry artist. I have been selling my work at art fairs, outdoor markets and to stores and galleries since 1998. I began my adventure as a full-time artist just a few years ago and launched my Vintage Metals Collection in June 2010.

I became an artist-in-residence at Mendota Mental Health Institute (MMHI) and moved into my studio there in May 2010. I’m part of a group of artists who teach classes or facilitate other arts/creative projects throughout the facility. I teach a Monday afternoon art class with a group of 4-6 men.

I’ve just started my studio blog for several reasons: to give readers a view inside an art studio; to share the fun I have in the process of creating my jewelry; and simply as a way to connect with the world after spending so much of the day alone in my studio.

1. Why do you love vintage?


My parents sparked my love of vintage things by instilling the thrill of the hunt for treasure and a love for selling it at an early age. They were broke college students with loads of creativity and a knack for finding great stuff at rummage and estate sales. I grew up in a small Wisconsin town in a very eclectic 1970's home (i.e. artsy-hippie-bohemian) filled with second-hand furniture and vintage decorative items. My parents would also take their finds to sell at the 7-Mile Fair Flea Market in Milwaukee, WI to make rent and grocery money. A few times, they set me up with my own table where I sold old beer cans my dad and I had collected (i.e. they threw really good hippie parties). I made my first $200 selling those beer cans somewhere around 1978

2. What sparked your interest in using vintage pieces in your jewelry?


My love for vintage clothing and jewelry started in high school. I went to all the dances in head-to-toe vintage outfits. Back then (in the now vintage 1980's) I could score vintage wear for super cheap at the second-hand stores. That was before they knew what they had and started tagging stuff as "retro" or "vintage". At some point after high school, it occurred to me to start taking apart ugly costume necklaces with great crystal beads and use the beads in my new jewelry designs. I started Rachael Brooke Designs selling my vintage crystal jewelry.

3. Where do you get your ideas for new jewelry?


I’m always looking around at shapes and designs and thinking about how I might use them in jewelry design. I use plastic design templates for many of the shapes in my Vintage Metals Collection. I have a simple fan shape design that is the corner piece of a sectional sofa on a furniture template. I also make my own templates by tracing designs on to Lexan (plexiglass) and cutting them out with my jeweler’s saw. I get the Lexan scraps from the framing shop at MMHI. I also find fantastic designs on the tins I turn into jewelry. I traced a design from a Russian tea tin that I call my “pointy cloud” design which you can see in my Barn Dance necklace:
www.etsy.com/listing/73801298/barn-dance-vintage-candy-tin-necklace

4. Where do you find all of your vintage materials you use in your jewelry?


I find my materials at flea markets, estate sales and resale shops. I'm also game for picking through curbside piles of garbage or diving in a dumpster now and then. It's very time consuming and sometimes a bust, but I love digging around at the markets and shops for tins, trays and other metal objects to turn into jewelry.

5. Tell us more about your studio


My studio is in a 1920’s one-story bungalow style building on the MMHI grounds that was built to house World War I veterans who were being treated for “shell shock” symptoms. It’s just under 200 square feet (198 to be exact) with high ceilings and three huge windows. I've decorated it with the really exceptional tins I can't bring myself to cut up. I love being part of a group of artists who share the same building. It’s simply the best studio I’ve ever had. Of course, my last studio was in our basement so I would have been excited to move into a big walk-in closet on the first floor.

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GIVEAWAY!!!

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Rachael is also offering 1 lucky reader a $40 gift certificate to her Etsy shop! To enter do one of the following 3 options. Do all three to increase your chances of winning! A winner will be announced on Saturday July 1st by 12:00 PM PST on GoatNotes.
1) follow Rachael on Twitter, tweet about this Vintage Back Talk post and about Rachael and post a comment on Goat Notes
2) Like Rachael's Facebook page, post a comment there about about this Vintage Back Talk Post and post a comment on Goat Notes.
3. Or Become a follower of Goat Notes & Leave a Comment that you have done so!