Hardware Store Necklaces

I got on the subway at the end of a workday, and sat down. A woman was sitting across from me, scrolling through her phone. She was well-dressed, maybe on her way to some kind of event, not on the way home from work. Lipstick sharp. Blue dress with a jacket in a slightly different shade of blue. Blue nail polish. A graphic animal-ish print purse. Oversized glasses, a dark bob.

And a statement necklace.

The necklace fascinated me. The necklace is why I surreptiously took her picture. Look at it! It's a piece of cheap hardware with a couple of carabiners and a lenght of chunky chain. You could go to the hardware store and pick up all the bits you need to make your own.

 Hitching Ring: 

 

Carabiners:

 

 Chain: 

 

What it reminded me of was Anni Albers. Albers was a textile artist and printmaker, who made a number of necklaces out of grosgrain ribbon and plain flat washers. The first time I ever saw one of the necklaces on exhibit, I detoured home past the hardware store and bought a pack of washers, knowing that I had grosgrain at home. It's easy to do - but if you don't have the desire to figure it out yourself, the Albers Foundation helpfully sells a kit. Who needs Tiffany when the hardware store has everything?