Shattered shards of teacups repurposed as rings. Human skull replicas crowned with lustered crystals. Ready-to-wear memento mori and decorative taxidermy. This is Betina Wassermann’s “Wicked World.”

Wassermann’s small business, Wicked World, primarily operates on her Etsy storefront, but she also makes appearances at various markets throughout Athens.

What once began as a jewelry store on Etsy 20 years ago has progressed from vintage clothing to now, over the past six years, to curiosities.Her Etsy still sells clothing items such as band tees and jackets, but now has a variety of gothic, alternative and “witchy” style items

“[I am most proud of] the fact that I’m constantly evolving,” Wassermann said. “If you don’t evolve over time with what you’re creating, then not only will your customers start getting bored, but you as a creative will also start being bored.”

Wassermann specializes in breathing new life into mundane things to create thought-provoking and spooky art. Everything from deceased pets to shattered tea cups, Wassermann can without a doubt create art.

A product that is unique to Wassermann’s storefront is taxidermy. Wassermann does not perform taxidermy much, but when she does, she taxidermies roadkill or deceased pets and said that she feels as if people misunderstand the art of taxidermy.

“Sometimes when people see taxidermy, they get the wrong idea. I’m not a killer of animals. I’m a lover of animals” Wassermann said.

The actual process of taxidermy consists of several steps and various materials.

“The entire animal has to be gutted, and then a clay sculpture has to be made … to mimic the shape of the body. Then it needs to be sewn up again and then it needs to be pinned and positioned,” said Wassermann. “It’s a very difficult process.”

Though Wassermann said that she does not entirely enjoy the morbid process of taxidermy, she does feel that it is important to respect the life the animal had.

“Before I do anything with these animals, I try to memorialize them and say, ‘Thank you, and I’m sorry,’” Wassermann said. “I go on to utilize them in art and where they can be seen for many, many, many, many years to come.”

Wassermann also sells a wide variety of jewelry. She utilizes a technique called “Tiffany soldering.” In this process, a metal mixture is soldered to the jewelry and desired ornamentation. The creative processes within Tiffany soldering that Wassermann uses to create her products come naturally to her.

“I don’t really plan it in advance… I just lay the pieces out in front of me and I always need a visual. So that is how the process begins. I lay it all out and then I figure out what’s gonna go where,” Wassermann said.

Wassermann often upcycles materials to create pieces of jewelry. For example, many of the rings on her Etsy storefront are made with Victorian-era porcelain that she thrifted.

“I try to use china that’s already chipped. Sometimes, if it’s a gorgeous pattern, I’ll break a teacup and I’ll use it to make 10 rings,” Wassermann said. “I think that it is a way better use of that gorgeous porcelain than it is sitting on somebody’s china cabinet.”

Jessie Frary runs her own gothic luxury candle and bath company called Water and Wick on Athens’ east side. Frary sells her goods in the same markets as Wassermann and believes that their gothic styles are being more supported than ever before.

“It’s interesting how it’s becoming more and more injected into the mainstream,” Frary said. “I walked into Michaels over the weekend, and they have a whole like Edgar Allan Poe Victorian-goth section now. I was very surprised.”

At the end of the day, Wassermann hopes that her products inspire people to embrace their own unique styles.

“Individualism is what rocks this work. Individualism is what sets us all apart,” Wassermann said. “I hope that people that shop my store can express their individualism in wearing a piece of jewelry or creating a cabinet of curiosities out of some of my pieces.”