Ball Jar Bouquet Vase Necklace

I have had an old glass Ball jar in my cabinet for as long as I can remember. The only purpose that old jar has ever had is to hold flowers. Flowers my children brought me when they were small enough to think a handful of dandelions was the most beautiful gift in the world, which they were. Flowers from friends' gardens. Flowers my husband brought home on days when he knew I needed a little something. I love that jar as much as I love every bouquet that has ever lived in it. I wanted to wear it.

The Piece

This necklace is a tiny sterling silver Ball jar, complete with its own removable bouquet of ten hand made silver sprigs of flowers, and the whole thing hangs around your neck so you can carry your garden with you wherever you go.

Every single element of the bouquet was made from scratch from recycled sterling silver wire and sheet, carved by hand, never cast, never molded. Five flowers of your choosing, two leaf sprigs, and three gemstone tipped stems, each one shaped individually with intention while it was being made for you specifically. The flowers in the photos give you a sense of what is possible, a peony, an iris, a coneflower, lavender, poppies, a ginger flower, gemstone stems in amethyst and peridot and rose quartz glowing among the silver. But your bouquet will be built around the flowers and gemstones that mean something to you, whatever those are.

The vase itself is a tiny faceted Ball jar replica, deeply oxidized and finished with a granulated collar at the rim the way the real jars have their embossed rings. The stems tuck into a small piece of removable putty inside that keeps everything in position. When you want to rearrange or swap things out you simply lift the bouquet, change what you need to change, and tuck it back in. The putty can be replaced whenever you like with a fresh piece. I send some extra home with your bouquet.

And then there is the other possibility, the one that made me fall in love with this concept completely. You can wear this necklace with real flowers instead.

Freshly picked lavender buds tucked into the jar so you can reach down and breathe them in during a hectic afternoon. Tiny chamomile flowers for calm. Variegated pineapple mint to perk you up. Lemon verbena to refresh. Dainty grasses with their seed heads. The smallest flower you can find in your backyard. One single bright happy daisy. The tiniest fern frond your eyes can pick up. You will start noticing the natural world differently once you are wearing a vase around your neck. You will find yourself crouching down on walks to look for something small and beautiful enough to bring home. You will design a new bouquet every single day if you want to. The possibilities are genuinely endless and they change with every season.

This also makes an extraordinary gift. Every month of the year has a birth flower associated with it. You could build a bouquet with your own birth flower, your beloved's, each of your children's. A bloom for everyone you love most. A bloom for your cat, why not.

After purchase you and I will have a conversation about the flowers and three gemstones that are most meaningful to you and we will start creating your bouquet together from there.

The Craftsmanship

• Vase: sterling silver Ball jar replica, approximately 1.5 inches tall with hanger, oxidized with granulated collar
• Bouquet: 10 stems total, 5 flowers, 2 leaf sprigs, 3 gemstone stems, your choice
• Stones: 3 gemstones of your choice
• Material: recycled sterling silver throughout, oxidized
• Chain: 18 inch sterling silver loop chain
• Floral putty: included, replaceable, keeps stems in position
• Edition: made to order, entirely unique to you

A Note from Tamara

I started making these because of that Ball jar. There is something about a jar full of garden flowers sitting on a windowsill that feels like the most specific and personal kind of beauty, the kind that comes from your particular garden and your particular life and the people who have handed you flowers over the years. I wanted to make something that carried that feeling wherever you go. I hope whoever orders this spends some time thinking about which flowers matter most to them, because that conversation, the one where you tell me what you want and why, is one of my favorite parts of making this piece. Your bouquet will be unlike any other bouquet I have ever made. That is the whole point.

Shipping

Your Ball jar necklace will be made to order just for you in my little studio in the New Hampshire woods. Once you purchase, we will discuss your flowers and gemstones together and I will begin creating your bouquet. Please allow two to three weeks for it to be completed. If we have to special order specific gemstones, it could be a bit longer. You will receive a tracking number by email so you can follow it on its journey to its new home.