Viridian Range: Handmade Jewelry Found & Forged On the Road

Viridian Range is a jewelry project I thought about for months, if not years, before actually getting the nerve to do it and make it available to others.

I’ve been wanting to make my own jewelry for a while, but this particular style – patinaed, salvaged bullet casings – all started with boondocking. We are constantly finding used bullet casings embedded in the ground on the public lands we boondock on. Jerud and I were already cleaning up trashed sites we’d come across, so picking up micro trash wasn’t a big deal.

Finding littered bullet casings on public lands was something new to me. I never came across any in all the years I lived in western North Carolina. But they’re everywhere in the forests out west.

So, the wheels started turning after picking up tons of these mindlessly left behind bullet casings. One of my favorite pieces of jewelry (until I lost it) was a necklace with an etched bullet casing pendant. I’m a big fan of repurposing things, so combining it with my love for unique jewelry and patina just made sense. Viridian Range is another creative outlet for me, while maybe making a little extra cash along the way.

The earrings are all handcrafted from inside the Toaster: from the patina process to the ear wires. I include the GPS coordinates of where the bullet casings were found when I mail them to their new homes.

The bullet casings don’t hold any significance aside from the concept of “make art not trash”. I’m not a fan of guns. So, it’s ok if you aren’t either because I’m not glorifying or beautifying guns. Instead, these earrings are an effort to bring awareness to the loveliness of repurposing things, minimizing trash, and practicing leave no trace on our public lands.

All my earrings are available for sale at my Etsy shop and on Live Small Ride Free. Thank you for checking it out!