Goodwill Fashion Expert—Bjorn Nasett

If diamonds are a girl’s best friends, then rhinestones, pearls and glittering costume jewelry must run a close second! While at a holiday party recently I wondered when faux gemstones and other types of costume jewelry first became popular. It seems that in the past few decades these fabulous fakes have become a large part of the fashion vocabulary. Since then, I set out on a quest to find out a few facts about the fakes and thought I’d share them with you here.  Now, on your next trip to the Goodwill Store & Donation Center nearby you can peruse the jewelry display cases with a more informed opinion when it comes to those shiny eye catchers.

Have you ever gone to your closet to get out one of your favorite wool sweaters only to find that over the summer the moth’s had a picnic with it and left nice little holes here and there? I find this very frustrating because I hate to throw anything away that could be re-used in some way. While at a craft fair recently, I noticed a vendor selling “felted” ornaments of all kinds. I ended up buying a flower-type Christmas ornament to give to a friend for the holidays. I asked her exactly how one goes about “felting” wool. She told me that it’s really a method of shrinking wool that causes it to become much more dense and matted together. This reminded me of a few times when I’ve accidentally washed a wool sweater in the washing machine. And then I had an idea!