Cricket Jones: What makes her chirp?
Editor’s Note: This story was previously featured in The New Political’s 2022 summer magazine The More Y{ou} Know.
Every day on the way to their classes, Ohio University students walk past a multitude of different individuals. In the midst of fellow students, vendors and occasional anti-abortion activists, one woman stands out from the rest.
“I wake up every morning thinking about jewelry,” Cricket Jones wrote on her website.
Jones stands on the corner of Court Street and Union Street by the Alumni Gateway showcasing her creations to Athens residents and visitors every week. Her art ranges from earrings to poetry, but her most popular items are her spoon rings. She calls these rings “re-enlightened wearable art.”
Upcycling old products into something new has been a growing trend in recent years, especially as more consumers buy second-hand. UpcycleThat.com defines upcycling as, “the act of taking something no longer in use and giving it a second life and new function.” Upcycling aims to lessen the amount of trash in the world and gives old objects the chance to be in a new home.
Jones started creating flatware from jewelry 11 years ago when her friend Debby Fulks, owner of Court Street Coffee, offered her wall space in the café to feature her art. Although she now sells most of her pieces herself, café-goers can still purchase some items at “Cricket’s Corner.” Now Jones creates jewelry from all types of household wares.
Jones uses the handles of spoons to make rings and the curved part as earrings. Jones’s spoon rings, one of her most popular items, were created after finding a bent one at her home. Rather than throwing the spoon away, she was inspired to make a ring.
Jones finds the spoons she uses at antique stores, but some are given to her for custom pieces. Image taken from Jones’s Facebook page.
Most of the flatware Jones uses she collects herself. Often finding them at antique and thrift stores, some even coming from across the globe. No spoon is off-limits to Jones.
Her art is not limited to spoon rings, she makes jewelry from other scrap metals as well. Cricket can turn watch faces and the internal watch pieces into earrings, and recycled copper wire into bracelets and ring bands. Custom pieces are her favorite to make as she feels they have an impact on her clients.
“I love turning family flatware etc. into jewelry for them,” Jones wrote on Facebook. “Those pieces usually end up meaning the most of any jewelry they will own.”
In addition to making jewelry, Jones’s art extends to writing poetry. She has written two books, including “Woo Woo Love,” which she published last year. Her passion for writing poetry began in fourth grade and extended throughout her life, leading her to graduate from college with a degree in creative writing.
“I love words and language… it is such a creative expression,” Jones said. “My mind is always playing with words.”
Jones’s business has expanded over the past year, with her being able to take on part-time employees to help her run her stand. She also had a booth at the Columbus Arts Festival, which offers artists around the country a space to showcase and sell their products to Ohio natives.
Jones has plans to participate in other festivals and markets around the state and across the country.. She also appeared at Brew BQ on July 15 which closed out Athens’s Brew Week. Those living in Columbus can also find her and her rings at the North Market downtown on some Saturdays.
Making jewelry is one of Jones’s greatest loves, and she cannot see herself ever getting tired of it. It is her full-time job that does not feel so much like one.
