Ginganetti

By Rachel Dallman

They are called “ginganetti” pendants, an Italian word meaning “little stuff” or “junk.”  Gloria Hayes of Lawton Michigan is the artist who “collects” the pieces and assembles them into necklaces.  She and her products can be found at the Kalamazoo Farmer’s Market on Saturdays, located at 1200 Bank Street, a half an hours walk from campus.  Bundles of trinkets, everything from coins, clock parts, and watch pieces to paper words glued on pieces of cardboard and vials filled with oils or sea salt hang from cords that can be adjusted to any length.  The one I purchased on Saturday morning is different from any other.  My vial is filled with patchouli and ylang-ylang, and hangs next to a French coin from years and years ago.  An empty watch face is filled with three pearls that rattle around inside it.  The inner workings of a clock are welded to a copper piece covered with embellishments.  The entire piece tinkles as I walk and has a fragrance that wafts over me every moment from the vial of oils.  It is a piece that can be passed down as an heirloom, something children in future generations will recognize as belonging to their family.        

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