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| Alex L.'s Brooch Bouquet | Photo by Shaun Campbell |
As I stand with my legs spread wide apart, with rivulets of sweat
migrating from my hind quarters to the floor of the glamorous Bargain
Barn in Hughesville, MD, I realize that this is my rock bottom. My travels have lead my friend Rachel and me to this sweltering, dusty,
rotted-out establishment in the middle of nowhere in search of glittering,
sparkling, and glimmering treasures that I will ultimately transform
into a one-of-a-kind heirloom.
The process
of brooch hunting began about a month after I got engaged. I had
seen plenty of brooch bouquets on Pinterest and other DIY websites,
and I was determined to create one for my wedding day. I began
recruiting everyone I knew - friends, parents and grandparents of friends,
students, their families, etc. - to pick up any brooches they saw on
sale for less than $5 apiece (pretty difficult for vintage, but not
impossible). My friends and their relatives really pulled through,
and soon I had around 30 vintage brooches from yard sales, flea markets,
eBay, and a particularly sentimental batch from a childhood friend’s
grandmother with whom I had been very close. When the brooch leads
seemed to start drying up, I expanded my search to rings, and then when
that went south I hit the jackpot: clip-on earrings. Since almost
no one wears them anymore, but grandmothers (and abuelas and yia yias)
and their offspring have been unloading them at second hand stores in
droves.
Why did I choose
the brooch bouquet? Because I absolutely hate flowers! Sometimes
I can break into hives just being in the same room with them.
And I take issue with the mortality of flowers and their lack of usefulness
when they ultimately expire (read Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz “A una
rosa” and you will get the gist of my feelings).
