Book Review - The Art of Forgotten Things

Imaged reproduced from Interweave website

The Art of Forgtotten Things – Creating Jewellery from Objects with a Past
By Melanie Doerman

ISBN 978-1-59668-548-2

If anything with capture the zeitgeist of today, it is All Things Vintage.

In this book, Melanie Doerman takes found objects and builds them into beautiful necklaces and bracelets using beading and mixed media techniques.  For anyone interested in creating unique pieces that hark back to days past, this book is an excellent buy.

However, if you don’t possess a lot of found objects, there is a very helpful list of ‘Treasures to Collect’ which is a good starting place for building up a collection.  It is also worth checking out Tim Holtz’s vintage-inspired findings in his Idea-ology range.  You could pick up many items that have the Vintage feel about them, so I wouldn’t be put off if you are starting out without a stash in place.

Reproduced from the book The Art of Forgotten Things for promorional purposes.  Author Melanie Doerman and Photography by Joe Coca

But back to the book, which centres around some beadweaving techniques and focuses them on creating vintage-looking pieces. In the first section, techniques are explained with illustrations every step of the way.  These are very clear and written instructions are also given (with a key of what terminology is being used).  Many different ways of using Peyote Stitch are shown with accompanying photographs to show a finished piece.  This is handy, as you can see how a technique will look, and how it is best used (it might be on a chain, or the edging to a brooch).  The further along you get, wire is introduced and combined with what you have seen so far, building on the techniques and giving a good view of how a piece is built up.

Reproduced from the book The Art of Forgotten Things for promorional purposes.  Author Melanie Doerman and Photography by Joe Coca

Once all the techniques have been covered, it’s time to move onto the Projects.  The photos here of finished pieces are beautiful and really capture what the book is about.  Each project is explained step-by-step with a list of suggested materials and diagrams to illustrate.  But some thought has been given to this, as there are also sections of the book given over to teaching the reader how to approach the creative side of jewellery making, and choosing materials according to how they stand out, or how much you love them.  This is an excellent way of giving the reader the confidence to make pieces that are meaningful to them.  The variety of projects is good, with very different looks and some unusual materials , and the ‘chain’ (usually fabric) is chosen well for each.  Some of the jewellery further on in the book uses a lot heavier beading, so there is a progression you can follow as you become more competent with some of the techniques. 

Reproduced from the book The Art of Forgotten Things for promorional purposes.  Author Melanie Doerman and Photography by Joe Coca

Now I just need to dig out my box of trinkets and silk scraps and make use of them.