Maker Highlight - BarbB Jewelry

Welcome back, readers! I hope you’re having a fantastic day or night- whenever you’re sitting back to read this. I’m so excited to continue our Brand/Maker Highlight series, which kicked off last week on our blog. If you missed our first Brand/Maker Highlight on Scrumptious Soaps, don’t fret- you can read it here! Scrumptious Soaps is a fantastic eco-friendly and NJ-local soapery- it was wonderful to do a profile on them. 

Today, however, we’re on to another amazing Brand/Maker from New Jersey- BarbB Jewelry! BarbB is a sustainable, Jersey-based, jewelry business, created by Barbara Wagner Eldridge. Barbara, or Barb, as she is lovingly called by locals- is a lover of all things natural and bohemian, which has seeped into her jewelry style at BarbB. Her pieces are unique, made from copper (specifically copper pennies, pre-1982), and are minimal waste/upcycled. For our jewelry lovers, keep reading to learn more about BarbB and how her sustainable jewelry brand is making a difference with one design at a time.

Let’s start with the design of each piece- as every gorgeous item is made differently from the rest, thanks to the sustainable creation process that Barb goes through. All of her jewelry is made from copper or other metals, which are known to be a more eco-friendly approach due to their recyclability. According to MergingMetals.com, “Wearing copper jewelry has the benefit of slow copper absorption. It has been claimed that headache pain, arthritis, joint pain, and other deficiencies can be effectively treated with the aid of copper jewelry.” When you wear copper jewelry, not only are you helping to slow copper mining and reduce greenhouse gas emissions- but you are subconsciously accepting healing properties that have been cherished by Early Mesopotamians, Egyptians, and Native Americans. How’s that for a quick history lesson?

With each piece of copper jewelry being made sustainably, no piece is the same, as Barb focuses on utilizing minimal waste. Global companies often search for perfection and conformity when making a product, which is not the focus at BarbB Jewelry. This brand embraces differences and intertwines them into their company message! When a pendant or necklace is made, you can probably find pieces of unused copper from that item in a corresponding earring. Even her signature pendants will vary in size, meaning that no matter how big or small the pendant is, each copper penny is being put to good use. No metal goes to waste in BarB’s designs, which is a theme that we’ve been emphasizing across our eco-friendly product stance at Mimosa Goods.

As a girl who loves a good accessory, I am fascinated by the handmade goods that BarbB creates. I love having jewelry pieces that are sentimental or unique, it gives extra life to each piece in my opinion, as it takes on a greater meaning than just an accent to an outfit. These handmade earrings, pendants, and rings are made with love and shed light on an NJ-local business. Our loyal followers know that we have been making an emphasis recently on not just eco-friendly, but local businesses as well- since they are the backbone of our hometowns. In a blog from MakeMadeJewlery.com, owners Katie & Danielle discuss the push for handmade jewelry as the new American Manufacturing norm. “The sad truth is that the past few decades have seen a consistent decline in traditional American manufacturing. However, the Handmade Movement is a strong type of American small-scale manufacturing --- one that embraces human potential and gives individuals a unique voice they might not otherwise have”,  MakeMadeJewelry writes. Celebrating a local jewelry maker means turning a hobby or passion into a job, with a sustainable income in many cases!

You also know that with shopping for handmade jewelry, you’re going to get the best customer experience possible. Barb is a fellow community member, which means she wants the best for Bordentown and its surrounding areas. She welcomes friends and shoppers to her page by highlighting her personalized designs and showcasing them online or at the local farmer’s markets, festivals, and fairs. Barb is also a new grandmother, sprinkling her love into every piece that she creates for customers- including her custom crochet. Yep, she even designs crotchet products!

I was so excited to learn that Barb has integrated crocheting into her business, as I think crochet work is so beautiful! You can check out some of her crochet pieces at Mimosa Goods, like her festive mini pumpkins, or find them on her Instagram and Etsy shop. Her crocheting goes as far as winter accessories to adorable ornaments to adorn your Christmas tree. Between jewelry and crotchet products, Barb is certainly covering her bases by incorporating her creative designs into various mediums- and we are absolutely loving it.

If you can take one thing away from this blog (besides adding a few of Barb’s designs into your cart), I would remember that beautiful jewelry can come from upcycled production. Turning unused materials, like copper pennies, into unique jewelry designs is truly a gift that Barb has mastered. It shows that mass production in the jewelry business doesn’t need to occur for a gorgeous outcome. Also, it’s 2021, we’re all trying to be a little bit more unique and eco-conscious- so let’s not only incorporate that into our lifestyle but into the things we wear too. 

As I did in the previous blog, I wanted to round out this highlight by touching base on some of BarbB’s gorgeous designs. Her heart-shaped metal necklaces are the perfect gift for a mother, best friend, or partner. For our fellow cat parents, she has adorable cat-shaped earrings that are enameled from sterling silver. I’d highly recommend checking out her stacked rings, which I’ve been eyeing for the last few days. I’m a sucker for a gorgeous set of rings, and her stacked bands are sterling silver with multi-color bezel cups. 

I wanted to say a huge thank you to BarbB Jewelry for allowing us to feature them on Mimosa Goods. It was awesome to be able to highlight such a fantastic upcycled, eco-friendly, local brand. It also turned out to be quite the history lesson from copper properties to the importance of local jewelry makers. Follow Barb’s jewelry journey on Instagram and Etsy at @BarbBJewelry or her crochet designs at Mimosa Goods. Have a fantastic week!