Treasures from the Earth!

Not gems, not diamonds, but glass from the past now reclaimed into a remarkable line of recycled antique glass jewelry! Our footprints are all over this world, but do we have to stomp so hard?

Guest Author: Laura Bergman
Bottled Up Designs

I’m Laura Bergman, the creator of Bottled Up Designs. I have lived in the Pennsylvania Amish Country all of my life and have a life long love (coming from my Mom!) of antique glass and bottles. I have spent countless hours combing though the wooded habitats and rural farmlands of this beautiful spot of America picking through the old glass dumps from a time gone by.

When you walk through the beautiful woodlands, it is all so often marred by the site of old glass poking through the earth, twinkling in the sun. As a collector you are drawn to the glass, picking up anything nearby, rocks or sticks, to dig it out and see what it could be. Your pulse always quickens wondering what it will be, with the case all to often being the broken remnants tossed there years ago. Those remarkable vintage blue Mason Jars, most of which I only find the bottoms, are among a very common find. I try to picture who would have used it in a pantry f ull of the summer’s produce put up for the oncoming winter. Broken depression glass, mostly in the pink and green, the most popular colors I find.

During this era in history raw materials were plentiful and new production methods were implemented, making beautiful patterned glass affordable for everyone. Times were tough, however, and I think of these pieces being broken and thrown in the dumps, perhaps never to be replaced due to lean years. Clorox bottles, always packaged in those pretty amber bottles a staple in every home lay out there by the millions from the early to mid 1900’s, the amber glass glowing when the sun passes through it. Ruby glass, both made during the depression, then later for beer bottles in the 1940’s looks like it’s on fire when the sun hits it a certain way.

The collectible pieces end up with a place of honor, but what of all the broken remains? I have figured out a way to reclaim these broken pieces and preserve their history in my new line of recycled glass jewelry, Bottled Up Designs. I love this old glass and the history behind it, and share that with you, as every piece comes with “The Story of the Glass” detailing what each piece was originally and the age of the glass.

Recently, while walking down a wooded path, I saw a mother doe and her baby fawn laying in a sunny patch of a quiet woods. They soon caught the scent of me and my dog, Holly, and were up and away. Under where the fawn was laying was the broken jagged remains of a cobalt Noxzema bottle. I sighed and picked it up to bring home wondering once again where we ever thought we had the right to do this.

To see my jewelry in all the pretty vintage colors, please visit Bottled Up Designs
~ Laura Bergman, Reclaim Artist