For over 15 years, Tina Goolsby has been finding beauty in broken things — turning vintage china plates into handmade pendant necklaces, one piece at a time.
I remember the special occasions at my grandmother's table. The table set so beautifully with her china was a gathering place of my family. The delicate pastel rose pattern mirrored the sweetness and comfort of those occasions.
As a child, I knew how special and fragile my grandmother's china was. As an adult, I realize the same thing about my family. Through the years, we have all experienced the stress of life and many of our families are broken and scattered — but each of us has a memory or person that we hold dear as a place of refuge.
Now, as I stand here looking at my grandmother's china, even though it's not complete because of brokenness or loss, the memories come flooding back of my family's heritage. These precious pieces of the past are my treasure and refuge.
As an artist, I have found the golden thread that can bind together treasured family china in a delicate piece of jewelry. I call my creations "Pieces Past." They capture in a keepsake pendant all the things you hold dear — as you enjoy your china in a different way.
— Tina Goolsby, Artist & Founder
These precious pieces of the past are my treasure and refuge.
No two pieces of china are alike. No two breaks are the same. That unpredictability is exactly what makes each pendant unique — and what makes the process entirely by hand, every time.
Tina finds vintage china at estate sales, antique shops, and through families who reach out directly. Each set is evaluated for pattern quality and the story behind it.
Using diamond band saws and drills, each porcelain cabochon is cut to reveal the most distinctive section of the pattern. Every cut is a judgment call — no two plates cut the same way.
Diamond grinders and polishers bevel and finish the raw edges of each piece, smoothing the porcelain until it's ready to be set.
Each cabochon is framed in silver or gold findings by hand. No machinery. No shortcuts. The finished pendant ships within 3 business days.
The theme of Pieces Past has always been Beauty out of Brokenness. A chipped plate isn't ruined — it's ready to become something new. That belief runs through everything we make.
Every pendant is a bridge — between generations, between memories, between a grandmother's table and a granddaughter's collarbone. The china is the medium. Connection is the product.
There are no production runs. No shortcuts. Every piece is cut, shaped, polished, and set by hand. That is not a marketing claim — it is the only way this work can be done.
At a show in Gainesville, a young woman walked under Tina's tent and stopped cold. Her grandmother had recently given her a set of china — and there on the display, on a broken plate, was the exact same pattern.
She bought a pendant made from that pattern and gave it back to her grandmother as a gift. The woman who had given away her china now had a piece of it to wear. A circle closed.
That is the moment Tina understood exactly what she was really making. Not jewelry. Not pendants. A way for people to keep what matters, even after things break.
Each month brings a new collection of handmade pendants from vintage china. They sell fast. Join the list and you'll always shop first.
