1. How long have you been selling on Etsy? I joined Etsy i
n December of 2007. I hadn't really heard of it before then but I did quite a bit of googling when I first decided to try selling on-line and I kept finding a lot of artists (of all kinds) who were selling there. I signed up right away! I didn't sell anything for the first three months...once my first item was sold though, I've kept a steady pace (selling at least one item a month).2. How long have you been making your items? I actually just got into jewelry making last fall. We have a family get-together in October/November every year and my mom brought along all of her extra beads and jewelry findings (she likes to do beadwork in both needlepoint and crochet). All the girls had fun making bracelets and earrings and it just kind of started from there. Once I got the basic techniques down, I kept going with it and found that I really loved it. It's very relaxing to me and something I find I can do while watching T.V. or chatting on the phone. I think it's kind of a natural progression for me, being an interior designer, to be able to create something artistic and designed, yet structured (kind of like I do in my day job).
3. What inspires you in your creations? I've always loved wearing jewelry, especially earrings, and am constantly seeing pieces that I love. I tend to get inspiration from magazines or the internet or items I see others wearing and that is a jumping off point for my designs. I start with the basic idea but then make it my own with the elements I use. I like long, dangly earrings and sparkly stones and gems so I tend to gravitate toward them. I've also had a long love affair with precious and semi-precious stones so I like to incorporate stone as pendants or accents in most of my pieces. I try to make things that I would like to wear, some are fun and funky and some are more reserved...but I like to think that all my pieces have a certain refined and elegant look about them.4. What is your favorite piece so far? My favorite piece is a necklace that I made for my sister for Christmas. It's a long necklace (it falls to about her midsection) and it's
a combination of silver chain and pink rhodolite as well as sparkly pink glass beads that are strung on wire and joined together with the chain. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of it but it's similar to this item that I sold in my shop. I haven't been able to find that particular chain again so I can’t recreate it exactly...although I think I may have just found something that will work and am planning on making more of this type of necklace for a street/craft fair I'm doing at the end of May.5. What are you dying to make someday? I hope to start doing some metalsmithing in the near future, which involves a small butane torch and solder. I haven't taken the plunge as of yet but this would allow me to set stones in rings and pendants. I have been itching to make rings! I'd also like to make small stud earrings rather than the long, dangly kind as some people (i.e. my mother) don't like to wear them long. Hopefully, I will be able to purchase the tools necessary to do this soon and will be offering my creations in my shop!
Visit Jen from JLC Studio at her blog too!
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