Recycled Paper Jewelry by Melina Szapiro of Palomaria

Melina Szapiro recycles newspaper to create an intriguing line of rustic jewelry.

recycled paper leaf necklace on chain with one paper bead

She blends ordinary newspaper into a fine paste, then uses metal plates to imprint delicate textures in the clay-like substance. After the material has air dried, Melina trims, sands, paints, and seals each piece by hand.


making recycled paper jewelry

I asked Melina to tell us how she came to make these lovely medallions and beads:

I was at University in Buenos Aires, Argentina studying fashion design. There was a young couple - a sculptor (he) and an etching artist and paper maker (she) - who lived across from my house. They had turned their old bakery space into a great art studio and fascinated me with their artistic ways.

recycled paper necklace on bronze chain

One day I knocked on their door to see if they would take me as a student. There I learned paper making techniques, binding, and several paper-related crafts. I immediately recognized it was The Thing for me and started to find the way to make paper my means of living.

golden recycled paper necklace detail

In the next years I developed PapelVivo, a line of handmade paper stationery. When I moved to Canada, I continued it with necessary adaptations to the North American market.

red, turqouise, and orange recycled paper bead earrings

At the same time I've been always painting, making art dolls, and many other crafts. Everything brought me to paper jewelry which is my focus now.

flower molds for making recycled paper jewelry

It is the natural development of all my interests: paper making, recycling, painting, and design... not to mention all those years of fashion design studies that finally combine into the puzzle of my life.

recycled paper bird necklace

Visit Melina's Etsy shops, Palomaria  to see a wide array of paper jewelry. Follow her adventures at Palomaria, Art + Life.
Ann Martin
Ann Martin

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Comments

  1. Thanks for the interesting information! The results are amazing!

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  2. I've never seen anything so beautiful made from recycled newspaper. That's truly remarkable.

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  3. That's amazing! I really love those earrings.

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  4. Another awesome use of paper! Each piece is clearly a work of art. Thank you for sharing about Melina's amazing work!

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  5. Such beautiful jewellery from newspaper! Really amazing.

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  6. so beautiful, wouldnt of known it was paper!

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  7. absolutely amazing. who would ever guess that they were made from old newspapers.

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  8. What a great way to recycle and such lovely results too. Thanks for sharing Ann.
    Lee:)

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  9. Hello Ann! A beautiful post again from you. No wonder Melina was inspired to join the studio and learnt such fabulous techniques. A lovely interview; thanks Melina for sharing your creative path; your jewellery is original and eye-catching. Thanks Ann for finding another wonderful artist to share with us.

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  10. Remarkable!!
    Its a pleasure to read interesting projects shared here. Thanks for sharing!

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  11. Love the jewelry! What a great idea. I have done some paper pulp and pressed it into cookie molds but I never thought to do some smaller ones and make jewelry. Cool! I'm terribly addicted to viewing all the incredible ideas on the internet.

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