Monica Macha’s jewelry can be described in a variety of ways. Vintage modern. Eco chic. Fashion forward.
Her style is to borrow some of your grandmother’s treasures, merge them with the contents of your mom’s jewelry box and come up with something entirely new. “I feel a need to create something from what’s been discarded or not worn,” she says.
Macha, a Colorado native who lives in Idaho, has a passion for interior design and fashion that she expresses in a melange of metals, colors, textures and periods.
“I like to layer and mix modern and traditional elements,” says Macha, 46, who did a recent trunk show in Denver. In addition to selling her designs, she encouraged customers to bring favorite or sentimental items that they could have customized into a new piece.
Macha also added some Denver stores to the list of retailers who carry her work. Denise Snyder, who owns Mariel on Larimer Square, said she was struck by the originality of the work.
“It’s modern, but still has a retro feel,” Snyder says of the designs, which typically cost $120 to $450. “The way she puts pieces together — mixing chains, leather, stones — makes it appeal to a very fashion-savvy person.”
A 1950s brooch, which might have once adorned a prim tweed suit, in Macha’s hands becomes an ornament for a metallic leather bracelet. She has no qualms about wiring a big silver medallion from the 1960s to a 1980s gold-tone choker. She will layer several pins or charms on a neck chain, add stones to a simple ring and put tassels on closures.
What sets Macha’s work apart from other designers who recycle vintage jewelry into new pieces is that she typically starts with high-quality costume jewelry rather than items that were inexpensive and mass-produced.
Self-taught as a jewelry artist, she looks for pieces by such designers as Miriam Haskell and Trifari, which used high-quality metals, stones and manufacturing methods. Pieces of that era were wired together, and stones were often prong-set, not glued as they are so often today.
But she doesn’t insist on starting with items that are in perfect condition. She scours flea markets, antiques shops and garage sales for jewelry. A piece that’s missing stones or has a broken closure begs to be fixed or turned into something different, rather than be discarded, she says.
“If it’s in good shape, there are things you can do, like use real metallic paint to touch up a piece,” she says.
She also uses leather salvaged from interior-design projects for her bracelets.
Just as she mixes eras in a single piece, she doesn’t think you need to save glittery jewelry for black-tie occasions and outfits. Wear a jeweled necklace with rolled-up jeans, flip-flops and a T-shirt, Macha says. Add an edge note to a work outfit with a bejeweled leather cuff, she says.
“Layer it and enjoy it. Be authentic.”
Suzanne S. Brown: 303-954-1697 or sbrown@denverpost.com
