S/O STUDIO
1. Bread Tab Pendant
Sterling Silver .935 (17 in. version)
Nine months ago, Chuppl dropped a video on YouTube called How Bread Tabs Changed the World. Its an absurd story part conspiracy theory, part history lesson—that somehow connected an obscure occlluponid, a shady corporation, Japanese Imperial war gold, the Heritage Foundation, and the CIA. Meanwhile, over at Horg.com, researchers were obsessively cataloging bread tab shapes, treating them like cryptids and tracing their “evolution” through this pseudo-biological framework. It was all so weirdly specific and compelling that I couldn’t help but get sucked in. These little pieces of ephemera became a perfect little nexus of my obsessions. I knew I wanted to make something to honor them.
My first attempt was… fine. I cast a bread tab in silicone and filled the mold with precious metal clay. The result was serviceable, but the firing process was a nightmare—it came out porous and kind of lumpy. I shelved it, figuring it was just one of those ideas that didn’t quite work out. But a few months later, I circled back to it, this time laser-cutting and engraving a custom bread tab, casting it in silicone, and then creating a wax positive for an Argentium silver cast. The final piece, hanging from a sterling silver chain, felt like a proper tribute. I started wearing it everywhere.
Then, one night at a bar, a bartender noticed it and asked, “Did my friend make that?” I felt a bit deflated tbh. I asked for their friend’s Instagram, and sure enough, they were another local jeweler making really similar pieces, and they had been making them for much longer than I had. Their process was a bit different but I mean it was a breadtab pendant. I hadn’t even considered that someone else might be doing something so niche—let alone that I might be stepping on their creative toes. My partner, always the optimist, shrugged it off: “It’s not like it’s a totally unique idea. We all borrow from what’s around us.” Still, it took the shine off the idea of selling it.
Now, I’m not sure what to do with it. Maybe I’ll revisit the design, turn it into a charm bracelet with a bunch of different bread tab shapes. Or maybe I’ll just let it sit for a while. Either way, it taught me a lot—refining my process, figuring out what works and what doesn’t. It’s not the flashiest victory, but it’s a step forward. And sometimes, that’s enough.
If you’re interested in a bread tab necklace for yourself, since I’ve put the kibosh on it for now, please check out the other designer mama jewelry —they make great work!