Don’t melt down any odd piece of silver flatware in your china cabinet. A clever dealer we met at a local show is making all kinds of jewelry—pendants, pins, rings, bracelets and earrings—using antique or vintage sterling and silver-plated forks and spoons.

            Each piece is made by silversmith Donovan Leidelmeyer, whose jewelry-making business, Fork and Spoon Jewelry, was started by his father in 1969. Leidelmeyer, of Middlebury, Ind. (east of South Bend), often travels to shows in the Midwest.

            Visit ForkJewelry.com, to see examples of his work and the silver patterns he has in stock. He will even make a custom piece using one of your own silver forks or spoons.