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Oct 2009  |  By Ann Marie Scheidler  |  Comments

Reinventing Vintage

The only thing gray in Patsy Grey’s life these days is her last name. Everything else seems to be sparkling.

The creative master behind her jewelry design company called “Touch,” Grey produces one-of-a-kind pieces using vintage materials she finds at markets around the country. Her intricate combinations of pearls and rhinestones, reminiscent of layered statement pieces made famous by celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker, have earned her attention from Maria Pinto, a favorite designer of First Lady Michelle Obama.

 

“A good friend of mine was attending a charity event, and she asked if she could wear one of my necklaces,” Grey says. “To our total surprise, Maria Pinto approached my friend and said she had ‘to have that necklace.’ My friend introduced me to Maria, and she bought 17 pieces for her boutique.”

Though Grey claims this publicity and good fortune is a lot of luck and happenstance, there’s a lot of hard work and talent involved as well. Grey’s history as a designer began years ago when she started knitting, eventually marketing her work to friends and local shops. From knitting, she transitioned to creating unique mosaics from broken shards of glass, china and old jewelry.

 

Grey became intrigued with texture and the mixing of color using beads, charms, antique pendants and semi-precious stones in her early jewelry designs. The disparate surfaces, colors and unexpected combinations of her early work remain in her signature, multi-dimensional “Touch” collection.

There’s a sense of serenity to Grey’s current collection that’s rooted in her meditative background. She was one of the first people to provide spoken mediations on the Internet, a service she provides to a global audience for free.

“My jewelry symbolizes my personal philosophy of renewal and reinvention,” Grey adds.

And Grey is quick to point out that the jewelry isn’t only about her.

“I love custom necklaces where I incorporate an heirloom from a mother or grandmother,” she says. “That makes the piece.”

Retail prices for the Touch collection begin at $500 and the collections is available at Davis Miller, Jake Gold Coast, and Maria Pinto Boutique. For more information on Patsy Grey and Jewelry by TOUCH click here.