Bead by bead, Melissa Panszi-Riebe strings together a new piece of jewelry. It's the latest creation for her shop A D'Zine.

"They call it 'upcycle,' [but] I say it's jewelry with a story that tells your story," she explained. "People will give me their jewelry…that I can reuse, and so it saves it from the landfill...I take old and new, and I redesign it and give it new life."

What once was a hobby for this licensed social worker soon took on a life of its own. Inspired by her Latina background, Panszi-Riebe transformed her social work experience into A D'Zine, giving jewelry pieces a second chance at life and telling their owners' stories in the process.

"Part of the values of social work is community, storytelling [and] letting people be seen," she explained. "When I worked [in] hospice, people wanted to tell their story. So, I feel like this jewelry is a way of telling a story, and there [are] so many memories with jewelry."

Since officially launching her shop nearly 10 years ago, Panszi-Riebe has been able to tell the stories of customers of all ages.

"I've had customers from super young...to very old," she said. "I've had a five-year-old I made a bracelet for. [Another] one of my dear customers, who actually recently passed away, had her bracelet [she got] when [she was] born. It was like a Tiffany blue with your last name on it. Obviously, she couldn't wear it anymore. She was 87. So, she said, 'I want to wear this,' and I made a necklace for her with her name on it. So, it was very cool."

Some of those customers are other local makers. To give back to them, Panszi-Riebe launched "Make Your Makr[et]," an annual pop-up showcasing small businesses throughout the Hudson Valley.

" There is such a wonderful maker community here in Westchester and Hudson Valley," she said. "It's such a very collaborative community [and] a very nurturing community, and so I think it's been really wonderful."

The pop-up market has only grown throughout the years, with nearly 75 businesses taking part this past holiday season. Panszi-Riebe has plans for it again this year, hoping to start it sometime in mid-September.

Another way she aims to give back to the community is by donating 10% of her earnings to a non-profit every month. The organization Panszi-Riebe chooses to donate to changes every two months so she can support a variety of causes.

All of Panszi-Riebe's jewelry pieces can be bought on A D'Zine's website. She also plans to make appearances at craft fairs in the near future, with her next scheduled event set for the Wondermart Trunk Show in Brooklyn on May 3.