His artistic process doubles as a metaphor: Cedric’s main goal in working with upcycling is to show people that, while things can be broken, dirty, and unusable, they can still be made into something new.

Their best features can be brought back to life as a piece of art. Just as human beings can experience failure and loss, Cedric’s jewelry represents the fact that tomorrow is the opportunity for a blank page and a fresh start. Our pasts do not define our futures.