Fran Carter
A vivid contemporary brooch transforming discarded plastic into a richly textured piece of wearable art.
Created by Wellington contemporary jeweller Fran Carter, Brooch I is part of her Liminal Moments, Liminal Spaces series. The work draws attention to the overlooked spaces encountered as we move through the city—moss-filled crevices, peeling paint, fallen leaves and fragments of discarded material.
Fran transforms single-use gelato sample spoons through a hand-developed process, creating a new sheet material filled with soft greens, translucent layers and unexpected touches of orange. Its irregular edge is allowed to shape the brooch’s final form, while fine silver rivets secure the surface to its brass backing.
The vibrant orange enamel on the reverse references hazard signs and stormwater grates, creating a striking contrast with the organic, moss-like colours of the front. Once considered waste, the material is given new value and permanence as a distinctive piece of contemporary jewellery.
The series was selected for Adorn Axis’s online exhibition Here & Now: A Sign of the Times, presented for New York Jewelry Week in 2022.
Reclaimed. Textural. Unexpected.
Repurposed plastic from gelato sample spoons, brass, fine silver, stainless-steel wire and enamel paint Contemporary wearable brooch with stainless-steel pin fitting 2022
This is an original, handcrafted piece of contemporary jewellery. Small variations and irregularities are intrinsic to the reclaimed materials and making process.
Fran Carter
A vivid contemporary brooch transforming discarded plastic into a richly textured piece of wearable art.
Created by Wellington contemporary jeweller Fran Carter, Brooch I is part of her Liminal Moments, Liminal Spaces series. The work draws attention to the overlooked spaces encountered as we move through the city—moss-filled crevices, peeling paint, fallen leaves and fragments of discarded material.
Fran transforms single-use gelato sample spoons through a hand-developed process, creating a new sheet material filled with soft greens, translucent layers and unexpected touches of orange. Its irregular edge is allowed to shape the brooch’s final form, while fine silver rivets secure the surface to its brass backing.
The vibrant orange enamel on the reverse references hazard signs and stormwater grates, creating a striking contrast with the organic, moss-like colours of the front. Once considered waste, the material is given new value and permanence as a distinctive piece of contemporary jewellery.
The series was selected for Adorn Axis’s online exhibition Here & Now: A Sign of the Times, presented for New York Jewelry Week in 2022.
Reclaimed. Textural. Unexpected.
Repurposed plastic from gelato sample spoons, brass, fine silver, stainless-steel wire and enamel paint Contemporary wearable brooch with stainless-steel pin fitting 2022
This is an original, handcrafted piece of contemporary jewellery. Small variations and irregularities are intrinsic to the reclaimed materials and making process.
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