In the sunroom of my great-aunt Mimi’s Chicago bungalow hung an image of a Christmas tree made entirely from broken brooches, discarded earrings, and other assorted bits of costume jewelry–a creation of her sister, my great-aunt Alice. I used to stare at it for hours, entranced by the glittering rhinestones and glass gems.

I thought of Alice’s jewelry tree when I saw Broad Street, Chicagoan Sara Bradstreet’s line of jewelry, and decided to include some of her pieces in the Chicago Reader gift guide last month. She trolls vintage stores for old costume jewelry and melds pieces together to form arresting new pieces, especially chunky cluster necklaces that are like exquisite bouquets.

I decided I wanted one for myself and stopped by her north-side studio to pick it up. One room is filled with trinkets and chains, which cover every surface and fill several jewelry boxes. It’s like pirates’ booty–if pirates were interested in fake gold, silver, and jewels.

There are monogrammed lockets, flowers studded with faux pearls, giant glass “rubies.”

Sarah says that occasionally she has an idea in mind, but that she usually “lets the piece tell me what it wants to be.” Indeed, looking at some of the jewelry, you start to wonder where it came from and the bosoms it might have been perched on. No wonder the pieces seem to have definite opinions about where they want to be.

She’ll also do custom pieces and will work in pieces that you already have. It’s a great way to give renewed life to those old broken pins and mismatched earrings a lot of us have lurking in our jewelry collections.

The designer herself.

I planned on buying “Marina,” a necklace featuring a swirling snail’s shell and a scallop shell, but I ended up preferring one with a flower motif. It features a gold butterfly on top with delicate wings that stand up and wave gently with movement–just like a real one. I love the way it is slightly asymmetrical too.

My birthday present to myself.

Broad Street jewelry is available in Chicago at Wolfbait & B-girls, 3131 W. Logan Boulevard, and Salon Blonde, 1643 W. North, and online at Etsy. Please note that if you see something you like, you should grab it–they tend to sell quickly.

Tags: Broad Street, designer, jewelry