Press

“Ten years ago, hemp and hippies dominated the common perception of products made from recycled materials. Today, nothing is further from the truth. Just look at the ultra-industrial creations from Chicago designer Melissa Kolbusz. Using her hometown as a salvage yard rife with things most people would consider waste, Kolbusz uses recycled and surplus materials like metal and rubber washers and cords, alternator wire and stainless steel springs to create bracelets, necklaces, belly chains and hair accessories. This jewelry appeals to the punk in everyone.”
-excerpt from the book, Green Design

“Chicago designer Melissa Kolbusz gets our Sexiest (Re)use of Industrial Materials Award. (Re)using metal and rubber washers and cords, alternator wire, and steel cable to make bracelets, necklaces, belly chains, and hair accessories, like the bracelet seen here ($28), she’s created a collection of accessories that will please TreeHuggers, ravers, motorcycle mamas, and goth chicks alike. We dig her right-on aesthetic and her clever techniques. $25-100”
-Treehugger.com

“Designer Melissa Kolbusz's line of jewelry, [wired], is made entirely from reclaimed and surplus industrial materials. Though old alternator wires and used transistors might sound like the antithesis of fashion, Kolbusz's pieces have a distinctiveness that comes from mixing shape, texture and material, like dangling earrings made of rubber washers linked with stainless steel. Each handcrafted piece ($20 to $400) is dictated by the found material, so you won't have to worry about your gift being anything less than one of a kind.”
-emagazine.com

-- PRESS LINKS --

CNN Earth Day (link to video) - Apr 2012

Fox Chicago Evening News - Jun 2007

CLTV "Metromix" - Jun 2007

NBC 5 Chicago News "Style File" - March 2007

WB NYC Morning News - Dec 2005