by Nancy E. McCarthy
After purchasing a box of silver-plated flatware at a garage sale in 2017, Joan Shroyer-Keno of Dryden did an internet search looking for imaginative ideas of what to do with it. That’s when Shroyer-Keno started her creative journey upcycling silverware into jewelry.
She began by making spoon handles into pendant necklaces. Shroyer-Keno cut off the end of a handle, finished the rough edge, drilled a hole to attach a jewelry bail and threaded a necklace chain through the bail. Then she sold them at small local craft shows.
These days, Shroyer-Keno’s skills, creations and customers have grown exponentially. The upcycling artist also makes bracelets, earrings, rings, chimes and mobiles. Her work can be purchased at several different retail locations, during numerous arts and crafts shows or online from her website.
“I am amazed at Joan’s artistry and ability to create jewelry from cutlery,” said Donna Barsotti, a customer from Ithaca. “Joan is passionate about her work and it shows in every piece she creates. When you purchase a piece from Joan, you know you have a very special piece of art that is one-of-a kind.”
Early inspiration
Shroyer-Keno grew up in the small rural town of Mineral City, Ohio. She was creative but not artistic. She loved all kinds of music, watched classic movie musicals and played the accordion. Shroyer-Keno began writing poetry at age 12.
She credits her grandmother, Alta Ethilda Barnhart, with her creative inclinations and strong work ethic. “Making something out of nothing was her specialty,” Shroyer-Keno said. For instance, Barnhart made handmade decorative beads from newspaper, glue and paint. She ran a small business from a desk in her living room. The wife of a carpenter, Barnhart was also very handy. She also wrote poetry, but Shroyer-Keno didn’t know this until recently when a cousin discovered the poems.
When Shroyer-Keno left for college, her grandmother gave her a vintage set of Oneida silverware with the classic Park Lane pattern. Was it just serendipity or perhaps a premonition? Decades later the answer appears to be a little bit of both.
Shroyer-Keno graduated in 1980 from Kent State University with a bachelor of science degree in journalism. As a young adult, she joined poetry groups and her work was published in several university publications.
In 1984, she met her future husband, Jeff Keno, a mechanical engineer, and they married in 1988. The couple moved around for Keno’s career, finally settling down in Dryden in 1996. Shroyer-Keno, who attained a master’s degree in information management from Syracuse University in 2004, worked for Lockheed Martin in their logistics department from 2002 until she retired in 2014.
“After years of corporate logistics work as an information management specialist I used my creative abilities to solve problems,” said Shroyer-Keno. “I now use them to create fanciful, up-cycled treasures and jewelry that delights my customers.”
Building a business
Shroyer-Keno’s hobby turned into a passion and then a small business (which she named Alta’s Ornamentation as a tribute to her beloved grandmother). She added other jewelry pieces to her line of pendants and started making little sea creatures (sharks, squids, whales, piranhas, angelfish and more) from spoons, forks and knives. Often, they are the remnants leftover from the jewelry she makes. The creatures dangle from her whimsical handmade wind chimes and mobiles.
To make these more sophisticated items, she purchased a variety of hand and power tools and taught herself to use them by watching online tutorials. “The band saw was a big game changer,” said Shroyer-Keno.
She works with many silverware brands, sourcing them from Facebook Marketplace, eBay, customers and friends in the antique business. “Sometimes it just shows up on my doorstep,” she said. In addition to silver-plated and sterling silver serving pieces, flatware and hollowware, other materials she uses include fishing line, hooks, beads, buttons and washers.
Commissions comprise about 10 percent of her sales. Shroyer-Keno collaborates with clients on what she can create from their heirloom pieces. Barsotti has commissioned several pieces. First, Shroyer-Keno made a bracelet for Barsotti using two butter knives from her grandmother’s cutlery. “I wear it often and think of my grandmother,” she said.
Another commission was a gift for Barsotti’s daughter. Using the oval spoon portion, Shroyer-Keno made a pendant necklace with delicate cutouts. “Every time my daughter wears it, she gets compliments,” said Barsotti. “But what makes it so special is my daughter is able to share a piece of her family history when she talks about the pendant.”
“Joan’s work is fun and delightful and I love looking at her creations,” said Robin Schwartz, program and grant director for Community Arts Partnership (CAP) in Ithaca. “I know many of her customers are excited about seeing their heirloom silverware become keepsakes in the form of jewelry or her amazing mobiles.” CAP manages several juried arts programs and events such as the Ithaca Artist Market and Greater Ithaca Art Trail which Shroyer-Keno has participated in since 2019.
Shroyer-Keno especially enjoys interacting with customers at arts and crafts shows, but the pace can be draining; she sold her work at 27 events in 2024! Her newest focus is developing the wholesale side of Alta’s Ornamentation and selling her jewelry directly to retailers.
“My grandmother would have loved this business,” said Shroyer-Keno. She still has the Oneida set that Barnhart gave to her. Shroyer-Keno has upcycled Oneida pieces but has never come across the Park Lane pattern. Ironically, she feels too sentimental about her own set to make any of it into jewelry. It’s kept in a buffet still encased in its original blue trifold.
The Artist’s Process
Making a Spoon Bracelet
Bracelets made from spoon handles are Shroyer-Keno’s bestsellers. First, she selects a pattern to work with and lightly cleans two spoons. She flattens the handles and marks where to cut with a scratch awl and ball peen hammer. The handles are cut with a variable speed band saw with cooling system. The cut ends are sanded to a smooth shine. Shroyer-Keno uses the awl and hammer again to mark drilling holes that will join the two handles together to form the bracelet. The sharp edges inside the drill holes are deburred.
The bracelet pieces are rounded by specialty equipment attached to an arbor press that is bolted down to a work bench. The pieces are then tumbled in a barrel rotary tumbler with jewelers shot (stainless steel mixture), hot water and burnishing compound for 20 to 40 minutes. They are rinsed, dried and assembled using magnet closures. Decorative embellishments such as pearls, birthstones or angel charms are attached by jump rings. “People love angels to remember loved ones who have passed on,” said Shroyer-Keno.
The bracelets are sold with a “history slip” which includes pattern name, manufacturer, year manufactured and historical tidbits from the year made.
To learn more, visit altasornamentation.com. Follow Alta’s Ornamentation on Facebook and @altasornamentation on Instagram.
