Jewelry of a higher caliber
Philly designer uses gun parts as ammo for personal fashion
By Kathy Matheson
The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 09/22/2007 12:50:57 PM MDT
Salt Lake Tribune, United States
PHILADELPHIA – There have been many proposals for keeping guns off the streets of this violence-plagued city, but maybe none as unusual as Melanie Brandon’s: Melt them down into jewelry.
Runway models wore the gunmetal pieces at Brandon’s two shows during Fashion Week in New York.
The jewelry, part of her Melani Von Alexandria collection, was Brandon’s creative attempt to address a harsh reality: Philadelphia is on pace for its highest murder rate in a decade.
”Just like a lot of Philadelphians, [I was] frustrated with people getting killed left and right,” Brandon said. ”Why sit by and complain about what’s going on? . . . You have to be part of the solution.”
She wrote a proposal in July and sent it to the mayor, top police brass and the sheriff. It ended up on the desk of Paris Washington, chief weapons officer for the Sheriff’s Department. Last month, he escorted Brandon and five confiscated firearms to a local welder’s studio.
The welder, working from Brandon’s designs, made the guns into a ring, brooches and several pendants. You can learn more about Brandon at www.melanivonalexandria.com.
