Repurpose...Recycle...Renew

Making lovely vintage pieces work for today's style is the goal of Vintage Spirit Designs

Vintage Spirit Designs

The goal of Vintage Spirit Designs is to compliment a woman's wardrobe with fun, hip, signature vintage pieces that bring joy and peace to the wearer.  Is that too much to ask?

CC Eckardt

Courtenay Collins Eckardt, an  actress and singer by trade, is expanding her creative vision and artistic expression with her Vintage Spirit Design Jewelry Collection.

Using vintage jewelry pieces and findings, beads, stones, chains, and other chosen materials, she designs each piece of her collection with specific women from her life in mind.

Coming from the theatre, Courtenay gleans a great deal of inspiration from the iconic characters and music of Broadway musicals and plays as well as American jazz standards.

Courtney is grateful to have an incredible network of women friends and family members for whom she names her jewelry as well.  She counts herself lucky to live and work among such strong, nurturing, creative, and loving women. Inspirations all!

Pass on the good vibrations!

"My objective has always been to bring new life - new Spirit - to these found vintage treasures! It is my goal to update older, pre-loved jewelry pieces while preserving the integrity and good karma of the original article."

CC's Testimony - Tell it, girl!

 My love affair with vintage costume jewelry and accessories began when I was a little girl playing in my grandmother's jewelry box. It was our way of bonding as granddaughter and grandmother.

 After my grandmother left this world, I wanted to wear her jewelry because it made me feel close to her.  The only problem was that my costume jewelry "inheritance" did not fit my body type or my clothing style, so I began renovating and remaking her jewelry.

After jewelry making classes and studying vintage jewelry extensively, I began selling my jewelry in home shows and arts festivals. 

My objective is to bring new life - new Spirit - to these vintage pieces of jewelry and handbags. I appreciate and learn from the high quality of workmanship and detail witnessed vintage costume jewelry pieces. Whenever I have a chance to hold a Miriam Haskell piece, I am in awe of the time and craftsmanship that went into making that piece of jewelry.

 I love to clean, to re -think, and to re- new these items into pieces that are wearable and current and special.

 Each piece is unique and handmade with love and good will for whomever wears it. 

CC Eckardt

Vintage Spirit Designs

So I am standing in the middle of my studio full of beads and pieces of vintage jewelry and tools - so many possibilites lie ahead of me.  The only trouble is beginning the process  - narrowing my mind's eye scope down to making just one piece of jewelry. A bracelet? A necklace? A lovalier? My decision looms before me like a heavy weight. With all the possibility that this room of treasures holds, how do I begin?

And so I put on some creating music - John Legend or India Arie perhaps - and time starts doing that slipping away thing as I get into a creative zone. Picking up and feeling certain pieces, the ideas begin to take shape. I start to imagine the life that this cameo had before or who was the giver and the recipient of this beautiful vintage locket. Stories start pouring into my mind and something intangible happens. The Muse decides to make her appearance and the work flows out of me. I am so content, so utterly happy. I have no sense of time or space. My dog frightens me back to reality with her sudden movement.

This addictively creative habit of mine is something that I started doing to relax. People ask me as I am sure they ask all artists with a body of work, "How do you have time to do all of this"? And I say that making jewelry is what I do when I am not doing anything else. I don't watch tv, nor do I read magazines, so this is what I do when I am relaxing.

At some point in the near future, I will open this room to some wonderful people who will help me share my designs and fulfill my vision for this company, but for now, the solace of this place is sacred and calm. 

I hope that I can always return to this feeling of warm creativity and happiness and love for reinventing vintage jewelry.

I deeply desire Vintage Spirit Designs to be a company that embraces the beauty and serenity and joy of the past and the present. We can make the past into a PRESENT!