Last month, Dunedin second-hand retailer Shop on Carroll hosted two three-hour vintage jewellery workshops as part of a new sustainability and inclusivity initiative — both of which sold out.
Workshop organiser jeweller Kirsty Lewis said the goal was to teach people how to recycle old items of jewellery that would otherwise be thrown away.
Attendees were taught how to attach old earrings to necklaces or rings to create new items of jewellery.
Ms Lewis said there were a lot of stores like Shop On Carroll that were exploring sustainable options — such as Guild and Stitch Kitchen — and hoped more retailers in the city would follow in their footsteps.
Repurposed jewellery, as part of the larger trend of sustainable fashion, was becoming more popular in Dunedin.
"I think Dunedin has a really great op-shop culture," she said.
"Maybe that comes a little bit from the students, but when you go to op-shops there’s also plenty of older people there.
"We’ve definitely got that culture of wanting to be more sustainable."
Ms Lewis said jewellery was more of a luxury than a necessity for a lot of people, but the jewellery industry itself was not exempt from fast fashion trends.
While it made sense to buy cheaper accessories, they would likely not last as long and wear down easier.
Buying more expensive or even reasonably priced jewellery were still options, but Ms Lewis hoped more people would turn to second-hand alternatives of accessorising in order to produce less waste.
The workshops also encouraged people to look at op-shops in a different way — as a repository for creativity and DIY attitudes.
"Hopefully when we run more of these workshops, it starts to get people thinking when they look at a piece about what they could do to turn it into something different.
"The more we can save not just being dumped in landfill and actually being ... [turned] into something else, the better."
Retail co-manager Fiona Dodds said the workshops were the beginning of a new venture for the shop with many more to come.
She encouraged people to donate their broken and damaged jewellery so something "new" could be created in its stead.
