Silver-wear

Photo by Jacob Durbin

Morgan Spehar

In an eclectic workshop full of complicated machinery, Cricket Jones decapitates cutlery, taking the bowls off spoons and the tines off forks. The remaining trunks are sanded and smoothed out on a commercial buffing machine, before being inserted into a large press that assists Jones as she hammers them into their final shape: a ring. Jones, an Ohio University alumna, sells her intricate jewelry at regional locations and events, such as Court Street Coffee, Ohio Brew Week, Boogie on the Bricks and a mix of stores and outdoor markets in Columbus.

What inspired you to make jewelry out of silverware?

I started Cricket’s Corner [in Court Street Coffee], and I sold jewelry, photo frames and some clothes and various things. I had to buy rings to sell at Cricket’s Corner. I took them out of the box, and I said to the baristas, ‘Well, I could make ‘em better than this!’ So, that night I was in my workshop, and I saw a spoon that was bent and I said, ‘Wow! That’s almost a ring.’ I banged and I tugged a little bit, and I made a ring. I took it in the next day and I said, ‘See, I told you I could make it better than they could!’ ... They couldn’t believe it.

How did you start your business?

With the rings I sold at Court Street Coffee, that’s where I started eight years ago. I helped the owner, Deb Fulks, get started because I had experience in the coffee industry, and I made most of the tables there. There was a blank spot on the wall and I said, ‘You need something to fill this, something to sell,’ and she said “Well, Cricket, you got a lot of things. Why don’t you sell your things here?” So, I started Cricket’s Corner.

How much experience did you have with spoons rings before you started doing this?

I thought I was the first person on Earth who had made a spoon ring. I thought it was so unique. Then someone said, “Hey, spoon rings are really in again!” And I was like ‘Again?’... I found out that spoon rings trace back to England when servants got married to each other and they had no money, so they would sneak a piece of silverware out of their bosses’ drawers, and they would make it into a ring.

What do you look for in a good spoon?

I’ll use classic design silverware and souvenir spoons mostly. Silverware has gone through a period and the artwork on these antique pieces of silverware is often very, very unique and intricate and the subject matter is very wide.

What makes your spoon rings unique?

A ring you see everyday would not impress me, so I have to find an object that’s spectacular. I hunt for these really unique spoons, and most other spoon ring makers go, ‘Oh here’s a box of silverware. That’ll do.’ I walk around yard sales, antique malls, flea markets-every possible place where I could look to find the most unique pieces. It takes me a lot longer to hunt for a unique object than to make the ring.

What’s your favorite part of your jewelry business?

The jewelry brought me together with other people. It’s a kind of spiritual experience, not just to make money. I do it to extend art and make this kind of art become more popular and to help these spoons last as beautiful objects.

To contact Cricket Jones:

Facebook: @JewleryByCricketJones

Phone Number (text): 740-590-4546