Margaret Cross
Jewellery maker
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Recommended by American Craft Council
Tangible remembrances
- Margaret creates custom mourning jewellery
- Hair, ashes and other remains are often preserved in her creations
- Her practice involves building trusting relationships with clients
Margaret Cross, a jewellery maker based in New York City, knows firsthand how important it is to have a tangible way to remember those who have passed on. She started making mourning jewellery after she lost her best friend in 2008. Needing a physical reminder of her grief, Margaret made herself a ring with a coffin-shaped garnet. "Since then, I have been creating personlised pieces for customers who have experienced loss," she explains. Rings and pendants crafted with recycled metals and traditional goldsmithing techniques preserve hair, ashes and other remains. Margaret's other fine jewellery feature ethically sourced stones and imagery evoking death and remembrance.
INTERVIEW
I understand, from my own experience of grief, the feeling of wanting to express it as an extension of your body. Jewellery allows for this unique form of expression, and in doing so, brings a bit of comfort.
It is an oddly intimate connection, considering that we almost never meet. There is something really sweet about our communication being strictly through written words and photos. Through these exchanges, people share some of the most painful experiences of their lives with me. There is a lot of trust involved.
My studio is full of plants, art, books, candles and rugs. I have a nice view of the NYC skyline and the best sunsets. My favourite feature is a huge cabinet from a temple in India that safely houses remains and works in progress.
Practice is the right word for it. It is an active meditation. My craft requires my presence, so I have set in place small rituals and gestures that ground me before, during and after the creation process.
