About Re…
Designed and created by hand in New Zealand, Re… seeks to Re…purpose scrap plastics, metals, and other materials into wearable art. Jeweller and artist Tony Drawbridge finds inspiration everywhere from discarded tech to scrap materials from the creation of film props, and then “mines” the materials and begins the process of designing, cutting, shaping, and polishing them into one-of-a-kind pieces of jewellery.
Meet The Artist
Tony Drawbridge has been creating jewellery since 1989. As a young child, he spent hours watching his mother, artist Tanya Ashken, working in her silver smithing studio in their garden, before making his first piece, a pendant, at age 14. Having discovered his own passion for the art of jewellery making, he began experimenting with recycled waste materials from the aluminium and acrylic plastic industries. Almost four decades later, this sustainable approach to crafting wearable art from discarded materials remains at the heart of his creative process. Every piece created is a one-of-a-kind, meticulously handcrafted to be fun, distinctive and evoke curiosity.
Behind The Scenes
“My work makes use of materials others typically regard as waste. A magpie by nature, I’ve collected the discarded off-cuts of plastics and metals for over 30 years. What began as a way to craft jewellery with minimal expense has become an integral part of my work, and enables me to uphold a sustainable ethos. The essence of Re: is once Re:claimed, these discarded materials are transformed or Re:purposed, and given a new or second ‘life’ as body adornment.”