My jewels (90% costume, made by me, gifts or a garage sale find) are part of my everyday experience. I want to see them, like art. The colors, shapes and textures inspire me. All thrown together, when I see them, they are like a changing piece of art.
They are the first thing I shed at the end of a work day, even before my shoes. It all ends up in a beautiful aqua bowl right where I stash my purse, keys and coat.
That way, as I am leaving for work, I can grab a favorite and can find it. Every week, I take that bowl to my room and sort, put it in trays or bowls by type on a shelf that is just for jewels. I don’t often dig in a full bowl, that can cause a good tangle right away. This photo is a full week of putting stuff in my bowl. You can use more than one or take your pretty bowl and organize it every evening if you choose.
For necklaces, I use vintage hooks on a shelf to hang them.
Earrings, bracelets, rings and charms are sorted in bowls or trays displayed on a shelf next to a full length mirror in between the hook shelf.
It’s not glamorous or huge. But it is functional and I use it like nobody’s business to get ready everyday. The shelf and the hooks are just outside my closet door. Getting ready seems so much simpler with all the components near the mirror.
Each morning I find the bowl of bracelets, the tray of earrings, the hooks full of necklaces and this is how I decide what to wear. Sometimes I pick out the jewelry before I decide what to wear. I miss pieces if I don’t wear them for a while!
At the end of a day, I come home and it is piled into my pretty bowl, ready to be put back into the mix. The inspiration, decisions, storage and sorting are in constant motion. It’s like a colorful mobile. The hooks, shelves and bowls, trays are changing daily. 
I love to see the moving collage of color influenced by my decisions – one outfit or creation at a time. My typical sort schedule is every Saturday. I love to go through the bowl. It is a little quiet therapy for me. It is often at this time that I decide what I am missing.. what do I want to create or buy next? What was my wardrobe of clothes or jewels missing that I want to go shopping for next?
What you need:
- Bowls or trays to organize jewels by type
- Full length mirror or good sized mirror
- Earrings
- Bracelets
- Charms & Rings
- Necklaces
- Hooks for necklaces
- Shelf for lovely trays & bowls
- Area to store your cast offs between use – near your purse, keys, coat and a mirror
- Mirror in your storage & prep area, near your closet
Whatever jewel you are making, wearing or organizing, love living with the color and incorporating it in your decor!
Stephanie Macera 