200-year-old china piece from Thailand

I've always said that one of the greatest parts of being in the world of jewelry making is all the wonderful people I meet. It was through Facebook that I met Tanya Boden, who together with her husband, Attit, owns Aardvark Silver in Bangkok, Thailand. Tanya's neighbor in Bangkok had a bucket of old Thai china, china that is about 200 years old, that he no longer wanted and when Tanya saw it, she thought of me. She wrote and asked if I'd like a few shards to make some jewelry with. And of course I did!

She sent me the cup cover shown above. Look at those beautiful blues! And even though it's of such an age, the gloss is still shiny and smooth. It's going to be awhile before I can start working on the piece since I'm busy right now with Christmas custom orders but I can't wait to begin on it. Meanwhile, I'm trying to come up with some ideas of what to do with it.

Tanya also very kindly sent me a piece of her mother-in-law's china. This is about 90 years old and there's no way I would break it! Isn't it beautiful? When I asked Tanya how she could bear to part with it, she said that she preferred crystal and sending me these pieces was her way of getting something with history out into the world.

I'm very appreciative of receiving these gifts from Tanya. Please stop by her website at Aardvark Silver and check out the fabulous jewelry she and her husband create and the silver jewelry findings they sell. And follow her on Facebook and on Twitter.

Thank you so much, Tanya!