Gin & Tonic Earrings

While growing up in a small Washington town, Kathleen Plate learned the art of working with glass from her mother. Later, while in grad school, she experimented with using recycled glass bottles, dumpster diving for her diamonds-in-the-rough. She began making and selling jewelry on the side, and did so well that she gave up on her Master's degree to launch a full-time business, now based in her Atlanta, Georgia studio. "Creating art from empty bottles is the ultimate alchemy," says Kathleen.