FAQ

CARING FOR YOUR JEWELRY

I recommend being mindful when putting on or taking off your jewelry to decrease the risk of dropping it. While it’s possible it would survive a fall, I can’t guarantee it and any damage occurring once in your hands is your responsibility. ENAMEL IS GLASS. It can chip or break if it hits a hard surface like the floor, or if something hard falls on top of it. For this reason, I also recommend keeping your jewelry in a safe, designated place like a jewelry box when not being worn, and to remove it before sleeping or exercising.

Watercolor enamel is permanent (unlike watercolor paints!) once fired however I strongly recommend keeping your jewelry dry and not wearing it while swimming or bathing to help with its longevity and overall appearance. The jewelry you’re purchasing is made to last however thread can stretch when wet and metals can tarnish faster as well.

Speaking of tarnish, metals such as brass and sterling silver tarnish naturally over time. I include polishing paper in orders this is applicable to and recommend using that or a polishing cloth of your own to gently rub the tarnished areas if you want to brighten up the earwires or clasps on your jewelry. I advise you do not use any types of polishing waxes or liquids that may leave behind a residue or require you to get your jewelry wet be it from the polishing liquid itself, or the water needed to rinse it off. 

If you notice fingerprint residue, etc on the enamel surface from being touched over time, you can gently rub it with something soft like a tissue to “clean” it off.

SHIPPING:

• All items are shipped with USPS, unless specified otherwise.
• I carefully pack all jewelry with extreme care to ensure it’s properly wrapped and cushioned for its journey to you!
• Signature confirmation is not included however it is an option. If you would like signature confirmation to be added to your order, please let me know. You can add a “note” while placing your order,  or email me through the contact page.
• Your item will be shipped out within 1-3 days after you place your order.

RETURNS AND EXCHANGES

As a small business owner who handcrafts each item and has limited stock, I do not accept returns. All sales are final. I note the materials and dimensions of each style and strongly advise reading the description of the item(s) you’re interested in. If you have questions or concerns about a style before purchasing that haven’t been addressed, please fell free to reach out to me—I am happy to help! You can email me via the “contact” page or message me on instagram (@meghanschmiedel). 

While I don’t accept returns/offer refunds for pieces that have broken in your care, if beading has loosened or a clasp has come undone for whatever reason, please feel free to reach out through one of the ways mentioned above and I can see if it is something I could easily resolve. In this case, I’m more than willing to help. You would just be responsible for shipping the piece back to me.

“I HAVE A METAL ALLERGY; IS YOUR JEWELRY SAFE FOR ME TO WEAR?”

All materials are listed in the description for each style so if you have a metal allergy, please read! All enamel work is done on copper. All earrings have sterling silver earwires or sterling silver posts. Pendants are hung on a variety of materials depending on the style. If there is a pendant you love that is on a metal chain you’re concerned about or unable to wear, please feel free to reach out through email via the contact page or to message me on instagram (@meghanschmiedel). I can and have happily changed out chains for braided cotton thread or cord!

“THERE IS A STYLE I WANT BUT IT’S *SOLD OUT*. CAN YOU RECREATE IT FOR ME?”

Often times, yes! So long as I have enough of the necessary stones/pearls, I can make the style for you. You can email me via the contact page or message me on instagram. In this case, please allow 1-2 weeks for me to make and ship the style to you once you have confirmed with me and paid.

“DO YOU DO CUSTOM PIECES?”

I do! If there is a custom design you’d like, feel free to email me via the contact page or to message me on instagram (@meghanschmiedel) to see if it’s a good fit with my style and something I can do within your time frame and budget.

 “HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR JEWELRY?”

All designs start from me encountering deceased animals while on walks with my dog or while on my exercise route! I first sketch the animal from reference photos I have taken. I then transfer the sketch to my computer so I can size it depending on the style I will use it for. Once printed, I cut the base shape out of 24 gauge copper which I then anneal and clean up so it’s ready to be enameled. I do a base coat of powder enamel, fire it in the kiln, and then re-clean it. I then paint the actual animal with watercolor enamels, using the base coat of enamel as my canvas. Once the painting is done, I let the piece dry for 48 hours before subjecting it to a burn-off process. Watercolor enamels contain wax which must be burnt off before they are fired in the kiln, otherwise, the painting may run! Once the wax it burnt off, the piece is ready for its final firing in the kiln. After it’s fired, I then do any necessary beading and/or assembly to achieve the final product.

“WHAT’S YOUR INSPIRATION? IS THIS PROMOTING ANIMAL ABUSE?”

While I fully understand at first glance, some people may see some of my jewelry as glorifying the death of animals, I promise you that is NOT the message. My jewelry is largely meant to acknowledge death—an issue most humans have a hard time facing—in a way that lures one in and turns what may seem purely disturbing into something interlaced with beauty where it’s perhaps least expected. I once encountered a dead pigeon in Long Island City that looked like it had dropped dead from no visible cause. There was no blood and no decomposition. It was only once the wing came off that I saw the insides were entirely filled with maggots and worms— so much so that they began to pour out of the hole. There were so many bugs, it seemed as though they must have been the very things enabling the body to keep its bird-shape post-mortem. They were slick and wet, and various shades of white, pink, and red that reminded me of pearls and rubies despite the grotesque wiggling. It was the grotesqueness itself, mixed with the fact that despite it, I was so curious and mesmerized that made this moment hugely stick with me. A whole new world had begun to live and thrive within an entirely pristine-appearing dead body. It taught me a sort of lesson, that, combined with all the animals I saw living in rural MA navigating life and death far more poetically than humans, wove the ever-present thread of inspiration running through the things I make.

It doesn’t hurt that I have always related more to animals than people, and so prefer to work with their imagery while exploring the facets of life and death anyway. I also like that creating the jewelry that I do enables me to honor their lives and address what they go through because of one another, and especially, because of us. We humans can inflict so much casual cruelty on animals, often with little thought, or worse, with justification, as if we’re the one species that can play god and take it upon ourselves to decide that some lives are worth less than ours simply because they have hooves, paws, or talons. 

I always welcome the discussion my jewelry can lead to because I think it’s important to not disregard the lives of the animals, both out of respect and my love for them, and because I think they can teach us a lot. Though convenient for some to forget, we too are part of nature and its ever moving cycle, and we will all experience the ebb and flow of beauty and sorrow, and inevitably, life and death. And I think only good can come from not shying away from it.

“WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR REFERENCES?”

I unfortunately come across a lot of dead critters and so photograph them from multiple angles whenever I see them, even if I don’t have ideas of what I’ll make from them yet. Sometimes the scenes are pretty gory, and other times they’re pristine, as if the animal simply plopped down to take a nap. Regardless, my designs start off as line sketches I create from these pictures, without any gory details, and then I work the beading into the design once I decide what I’d like to make (earrings, a pendant, a brooch, etc), what color scheme I want to work with, and what best suits the animals and the state I found its body in.

“IS IT HARD TO LOOK AT THAT ALL DAY?”

Strangely no. I have very unfortunately found dying animals before and that is plain awful and those moments stay with me forever. Finding them dead though, while still sad, brings relief that at least their pain is over and done with. And truthfully it feels good to create something beautiful with their last moments and find inspiration within them as opposed to quick looking away and pretending they’re not there. It can certainly be bizarre to so plainly see and be reminded of all the things that are wound up in our very bodies right this minute, but it’s also weirdly humbling and incredible to think about.