The saying “Necessity is the mother of invention” perfectly describes how I came to make succulent jewelry. A few years ago I was asked to send a variety of floral jewelry pieces to California to be part of a photo shoot. The pieces would have to survive the journey from Michigan to California, arrive a few days ahead of the event, and then last four to five days. I knew I wouldn’t be able to use fresh flowers, so I made the jewelry with succulents and long-lasting pods and berries. When I received the gorgeous photos from the shoot a few weeks later, I knew I was on to something good. In those first pieces, I incorporated dried materials as well, but as I experimented further and made more pieces, I found I was most attracted to jewelry made entirely of succulents in shades of green. Many, many hours of experimentation and testing later, I had crafted a style that I love.
As I began to share my succulent designs online, the excitement they generated prompted me to open an Etsy store, and I found myself making and shipping succulent corsages, cuffs, necklaces, crowns, rings, and earrings throughout the country. Media attention resulted in more orders than I was comfortable with, and early this year, after four years online, I decided to close the shop and stop staying up late making and packaging these beauties. I’d much rather share my love for them and teach people how to create their own. The pieces I share in this chapter are made with sedums, sempervivums, crassulas, and echeverias that I have tested extensively. I buy nearly all of my plants at Graye’s, a local, family-owned greenhouse near my home that’s been around for a hundred years. Their plants are strong, healthy, and well cared for—the perfect source for these little jewels. I encourage you to seek out your own local market, garden center, or greenhouse. I often buy large plants, keeping the tender ones indoors as houseplants, and planting the hardy ones in my garden so I can continue to cut from them year after year. The best part about succulent jewelry is that it’s truly sustainable—the plants can be removed and potted after wear, and the jewelry bases can be either spiffed up and worn as minimalist jewelry or kept to be “planted” again.
When cutting the pieces I’ll be using from the plants, I typically cut the larger succulents right below the leaf or floret but leave a bit of stem on the smaller ones. Note: Sedum morganianum can be delicate, and too much jostling can cause the leaves to fall off. To prevent this, I recommend carefully adding glue up into the body of the floret, in between the leaves, and along the length of the stem before adding them to the design.
