Our Story

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The vision and passion behind Ann-Made's line of jewelry is Ann Skydell Harmon,
a special education art teacher. She set out to design a unique and chic product
to promote recycling, as well as to show that a business
can "do good" for society and the planet in all aspects of its operation.

Ann-Made jewelry is Ann's unique creation made from recycled soda can tabs to
remind us that a little creativity can put many discarded materials to
new use. The bracelets were the first item in the line and were originally
conceived as a project for her alternative school art students. The popularity of the
bracelets were immediately apparent as Ann, her daughters, and fellow teachers received numerous enthusiastic comments each time they wore theirs. Earrings and Pendants
have now joined the bracelets in this unique line of jewelry.

The tabs Ann uses for the jewelry are purchased from local
non-profit groups that collect the aluminum tabs to support the charitable
work that they do. These organizations raise a significant amount of money
by selling the tabs they have collected to an aluminum recycler.
Ann-Made helps these groups even more by paying more
for the tabs than the organizations normally receive from the recycler.

Once we get the tabs back to the studio, they are washed, sorted
and polished. Only about a quarter of the tabs we purchase are
beautiful enough for our jewelry. The remaining tabs are then re-donated
back to the organizations so that they can sell these tabs, as well, to the recycler.

All of our jewelry is hand crafted by Ann and several talented and dedicated
assistants. Each piece of jewelry is made with great care and attention
to detail. We want each piece to be very special.

And very importantly, Ann-Made, LLC donates a portion of each sale to
a number of environmental causes. It's our way of
doing our part to help keep our planet beautiful and healthy.

In just a short time, it has become apparent that Ann-Made jewelry is
unique and not only serves as wonderful conversation pieces but also stylishly shows how
much you care about recycling and improving the planet.

So wear your Ann-Made jewelry with pride knowing your purchase
did so much for so many. And we thank you!

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Where we get our materials

In the spirit of recycling and repurposing, we endeavor to incorporate recycled and repurposed materials into our jewelry whenever and wherever we can.

As you may know, the post-consumer tabs we use are purchased from a local non-profit organizations. We have opted to pay significantly more than the organization would normally receive from the aluminum recycler. This way, as much as possible goes to the charities that they support.

The paper stock that we use for all of our jewelry packaging is made from 100% recycled paper.

Cardboard used to support the bracelet packaging is repurposed corrugated cardboard from clean but already used boxes (we love furniture stores!). We cut the boxes down to size and they get a second chance to be useful.

We find our beads and stones in many places. Of course, we sometimes purchase them from jewelry distributors but we also find them in the local thrift stores. Repurposing beads is a wonderful way to inject new life into some beautiful and unusual beads. Not only is it environmentally sound but some of my most beautiful bracelets are made using these great finds.

When we do buy materials from jewelry distributors, we only purchase from those that have proven to us that they insist on sound labor and environmental practices from the manufacturer wherever they may happen to be in the world.

Even the displays we make for the stores that carry our line are made from corrugated
plastic that can be completely recycled. The corrugation also ensures that a minimal amount of material is actually being used to get the job done.

When Ann-Made ships a package, whether it's a single item or many pieces, we use unprinted newsprint from end rolls to wrap and safely pack our jewelry. These end rolls are salvaged from offset printers who print newspapers. The presses cannot use the rolls right down to the core and there is a significant amount of paper left on each roll. This is also a great idea for when you're moving and need to pack dishes or fragile items. It's clean, and can be recycled after you unpack.

How can you help? If you have any old jewelry lying around, why not drop it off to your local thrift shop. Many artists scrounge these shops for inspiration and to find unusual items. Your forgotten pieces will find new uses, will benefit the charitable thrift shop and you’ll have cleaned out your drawers. There really are endless ways to “do good”
these days.