On p. 8 of our new VintageStyle Jewelry issue, Lynne Soto suggests asking relatives about family jewelry. Despite reading this advice numerous times during the editing process, I did not heed it! But when I showed VintageStyle Jewelry to my grandma, she took me to task. “It says here you’re supposed to ask me about my jewels!” she said. She immediately brought out a fiber bracelet loaded with silver vintage buttons portraying everything from coins to Egyptian pharaohs. I had never seen the bracelet before, but apparently my great aunt gave it to her, keeping a gold version for herself. The bracelets must have made a stunning pair when my grandma and great aunt wore them out to brunch.

Two pages later in VintageStyle Jewelry, Anna Elizabeth Draeger advises us not to be afraid to dismantle vintage pieces in order to create new designs. Perhaps a side benefit of VintageStyle Jewelry is that vintage pieces – in their original state – become appreciated again. My grandma never dreamed her bracelet was “in” until she read the magazine.

What pieces emerged from your relatives’ jewelry boxes in response to VintageStyle Jewelry?