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One of the difficulties of working with metal is that you don't always know its origin. You can ask your provider and look things up online, and in this way find out what general area your silver comes from, but it’s always possible that the silver comes from a place where working conditions and worker compensation are an unknown. Also, I am not cool with the idea of sending people into the depths of a mine looking for ore with all the dangers connected with that. A perfect solution is to use recycled silver. No people are risking their lives to find precious metals when unwanted pieces of silver have been gathered and are fused to produce new wire that is then sold with a guarantee of authenticity. The entire process is certified to be traceable and fully audited, thus protecting jewelry-makers and their environmentally conscious customers from possible fraud.  I have started using recycled silver as soon as I learned of its availability, and despite its higher cost, I intend to keep using it every time I can find it. This is not the only way in which I want my business to be environmentally friendly - far from it - but it certainly is the one that I most often discuss, both on my site and on each listing for which recycled metal was used. The only issue I have had so far is that not all the sizes of silver wire I need for my jewelry are available for purchase. The thinnest wire I use in my work, a thread-sized wire of .3 mm diameter needed for the most minute details of my jewelry, is not available in recycled silver. Here's to a day when demand for recycled silver has increased and more sizes of wire have become available.
Although inspiration can come to you out of the blue at certain times, and at others it can be hard to find, I believe that with the right mindset, it can be found in many places. For me, the greatest source of new ideas is nature. Water, as well as vegetation in its many forms (even the most minute plants) can make me think of new shapes and inspire some of my jewelry. These images are just a small sample of the many shapes I find interesting see - they are things that one way or another have had an impact on my creations. 
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MonicaI love hematite, onyx, and chocolate.
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