Judith Klein hangs out on street corners, at busy intersections and auto body shops, in breakdown lanes and motorcycle graveyards, collecting small pieces of metal that have fallen off speeding cars. She then treats the metal before combining pieces and adding glass beads and semi-precious stones (mostly fire opals from Mexico) to create one-of-a-kind brooches, bolas and lavalieres.

Her favorite haunts? Route 128 in her hometown of Beverly, MA, the intersection of Routes 133 and 1, the lower East Side of New York, Maurice Avenue in Queens, and the street in front of Bagel World in Danvers, MA. “It’s a risky business,” she admits, “but someone’s got to do it.”