Artist Sydney Jones Turns Broken Glass Into Jewelry

Photo Source: Natalie Orenstein/The Oaklandside

Oakland local artist Sydney Jones finds a new purpose for shattered glass from car break ins in the Bay Area. People in the area say your car has been “bipped.”

The Concept

Jones looks at shattered “bipped” car windows and sees possibility, gathering the broken glass and turning it into candles, vases, and jewelry instead of waste.

From broken windows to wearable art

Sydney Jones does not see a broken car window as a bad thing (well it is bad for the driver). She is there wearing gloves with a broom to sweep up the broken glass to find a new use for it. Her shop brand is called Odd Commodity Shop.

She sells candles, plant propagation vessels, earrings, and other functional art. It is mostly created using “reclaimed glass.” Old Modelo and Topo Chico bottles become scented candles.

Wine bottles become vases. Broken car window glass becomes jewelry.

Jones said, “I grew up in Oakland, and all the kids started saying, ‘Oh, you got bipped!’ I started picking up pieces and thought, you know, this is really pretty glass. Maybe I’ll see if it starts melting in my microwave kiln.”

When she took the glass and put it into the small home appliance for glasswork projects, they melted into perfect circular droplets. Jones thought to herself, “These would be stunning little studs.” She then added jewelry hardware before bringing the final project to a market.

The earrings sold out in no time. The jewelry is beautiful, but the customers like it for more than just its aesthetic appeal.

They liked the idea of taking a negative experience and turning it into a creative and sustainable masterpiece. Jones now sells several different earring designs as part of her collection referred to as “Bips.”

For another example of how recycled glass can help communities and the environment, see this glass recycling initiative in Louisiana.

If you enjoy stories of art emerging from everyday streetscapes, you might also like DivsFeed’s feature on a chalk artist who turns pavements into surprises.

Odd Commodity Shop

Through Odd Commodity Shop, she experiments with resin, bottles, test tubes, and car windows, constantly searching for ways to keep beautiful materials out of landfills.

Upcycling glass into everyday design

Sydney Jones explained her vision, “Oftentimes, it will just end up in landfill. So I wanted to start diverting these beautiful gems into something beautiful and wearable.” She was an undergraduate architecture student around five years ago. She had extra resin leftover from creating models. She was aware it could have ended up in the landfill, so instead she turned it into Christmas presents.

When her supply dwindled, she started using glass, which is less toxic. She practices upcycling which is reusing material that would otherwise get thrown away.

Jones takes glass from broken car windows, but she also has other ways to get materials for her art projects. In fact, she has a partnership with a local winery called Alta Vina. They give her old wine bottles.

Her friends have also made contributions, saving their empty beer bottles for her. Also, Jones collected test tubes that would have been disposed of at her partner’s Stanford University program. She turned those into magnetic plant propagation stations.

Her first batch of elegant earrings was called her “Street Revival Collection.” In an interview with CBS News Bay Area, she said, “I was actually overwhelmed by the community response to the reuse of glass. I never would have thought it would be reclaimed glass that people would get excited about.”

For more everyday inspiration rooted in small, intentional choices, explore how one man committed to decades of daily kindness in 51-Years Of One Random Act Of Kindness A Day.

More About Sydney Jones

Beyond the objects she sells, Jones uses her platforms and everyday life in Oakland to talk about recycling, resourcefulness, and community education around sustainability.

Rooted in Oakland and sustainability

After gaining a large following on social media, she uses her platform to talk about recycling. She calls these informational posts “Trash Talks.”

Jones grew up in Glenview near I-580 with her family. They would try to conserve resources whenever they could to save money and also live by their values.

Jones has said, “I was the kid where we’d leave a bucket in the shower so we could flush the toilet. I’ve always been really passionate about sustainability. But I know, being from Oakland, that a lot of people don’t have access to resources or education about that. It’s important to me to have community engagement…and inspire others to use their own creativity to help fix this systemic problem.”

She works as a designer at an architecture firm but has the hopes and dreams of turning her Odd Commodity Shop into something much bigger. Once a month, she takes her artwork pieces to the Jack London Square farmers market. She also frequents craft fairs in the Bay Area.

But if you are on the other side of the country like I am, she sells her Bips and other products on her website.

One of her frequent customers at the Jack London Square market is Chris Minick. He loves her candles and appreciates her attention to sustainability. Minick said, “It makes it feel great to support a business like that because not only are you supporting the business, you’re supporting the environment as well.”

At the Alta Vina Wine Bar, where she is provided with glass bottles, she offers a candle-making workshop. The winery gives out the bottles and Jones brings the eco-friendly art supplies.

Her friend Paula Choi and her fiance came out to support her. They made a candle that smells like oak, moss, and amber and another candle that smells like rosemary and eucalyptus.

Choi said, “She uses natural ingredients and the scents that she gets are really clean.”

If this story nudges you to be gentler with yourself while you make change, The DivsFeed’s guide on practicing self-kindness every day might be a helpful companion.

Last Remarks

As her work reaches markets, fairs, and online buyers, Jones hopes people rethink what they consume, what they can reuse, and how small choices might add up.

Carrying her message forward

I will leave you with a final message from Jones, “I hope it inspires folks to think about what they consume and what they can reuse.” Also, a reminder that you can support Jones by purchasing her products at the market or on her website.