In the summer of 2002 I found this Rebel bottle cap on a Brooklyn street. Smashed and with fancy scalloped edges I drilled a hole in it to make this crafty necklace for my twin on her birthday. I chose to use the clear beads from of one of my favorite antique Czech glass necklaces for the main design. While stringing I realized that I had one less clear bead than I needed for it's symmetry. I fretted not even a moment and reached for an amber bead to complete the strand.

Two years later I decided to create counterculture 'awareness' jewelry to bring attention to another side of recovery in opposition to the pink ribbon and product marketing that continues to callus the landscape. "One in eight" began as a reference to the 2003-04 statistic "one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer". Now, however, more on target it reflects my position as the rebel and last child of a family of 8. In order to bring meaning to my mission I designed the beading to represent the 2004 statistic, having eight beads and one being a different color. I went to my sister's to share the idea and to borrow the original necklace as a prototype. It was then that I realized that the beads on the original necklace, that I had made two years prior, already represented the statistic. Today, the story of the jewelry moves forward as the evolution and strength of

Rebel1in8 continues, read more...