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Mistakes Were Made

T.O.P. Crate is a 5×10 ft miniature project/exhibition space housed in The Opulent Project’s studio in Portland, Oregon. The current and ongoing exhibition is called Mistakes Were Made, a collection of over four years’ worth of rejected, less-than-perfect wax models some cast in bronze and silver.

Making wax models is generally The Opulent Project’s first step in casting metal jewelry. The wax model is then covered with a special plaster and is placed in a kiln until the wax melts out; leaving a cavity into which molten metal enters and hardens. The result is a metal version of the wax model.

The Opulent Project remakes old jewelry over and over again using these molds, and sometimes it’s just not possible to pull a perfect wax model out of a mold so they’re left with these unusual “accidents.” So they decided to make use of these “accidents” and create a variety of forms and objects, which they cast in bronze and silver.

Jaime Derringer, Founder + Executive Editor of Design Milk, is a Jersey girl living in SoCal. She dreams about funky, artistic jewelry + having enough free time to enjoy some of her favorite things—running, reading, making music, and drawing.