April 22nd - Earth Day - Trunk Show

Hard Wear Jewelry with artist TRAcey Dobson

Tracey is the creator of "hard wear" jewelry. She is inspired by existing materials and is an expert in salvaging and turning them into beautiful creations.

"Upcycling" is the art of making something new from something that was headed to the landfill. 
Reuse has always been her inspiration for making things. She finds a wealth of opportunities as far as materials go, especially in Chicago. Her journey started in 2007 after having her second child and deciding to not go back to the restaurant business.

"It was as though a Pandora’s box of creativity was opened. I developed a line of jewelry from tiny hex nuts found at Resource Center’s Creative Reuse Warehouse "hard wear”."

Since 2008 Tracey has sold at craft markets around Chicago as well as in city stores in the Midwest and boutiques coast to coast.
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Tracey grew up in Australia but has been living in Chicago since 1995. She has a daughter, a son, and a step-son, in ascending order of age.