i’m a big fan of mint. not the holiday flavor that gives you fresh breath & a chill, but the fabulous design blog run by ellie snow. ellie was recently laid off from her graphic design job and is making a go at being a full-time blogger & freelancer. her etsy shop, hello tenfold, is fresh * clean * sophisticated! read on to find out how ellie found her passion…

you’re a blogger, a freelance graphic designer, a wife, and an etsy shop proprietor. what other passions do you have? and what’s really getting your creative juices flowing right now?

I love taking photos and reading! I just finished Water for Elephants and now I’m reading The Séance by John Harwood. I guess you could say I’m an inspiration sponge, so when I’m feeling stuck creatively I like to sit down with a big stack of design magazines and books.

tell me about an obstacle you overcame (or are overcoming) in turning your passion for design into a business.

Time management and balance are a couple things I’m working on. I’ve realized that although I put a lot of hours into my business, I’m not always being productive. When most of your work is done on the computer, it’s hard not to get side-tracked, or multi-task to the point of being unable to focus on one thing at a time. I also need to get out of the house more during the day, and an exercise routine wouldn’t hurt!

your shop, hello tenfold, has an emphasis on classic typography, sophisticated colors, and modern touches. Tell me about your process in visualizing and designing a new product.

It really depends! Some clients are very specific about the look they’re going for, and I take inspiration from photos they gather for me from wedding blogs and magazines. From there, I spend time looking through fonts and deciding which ones have the right feel for the project, and then I just start “playing” with illustrations, layout, and patterns. Sometimes it’s a quick process and other times it will take many hours to get things right.

what is one thing you struggle with on a daily basis in living out your passion for design?

Design is such a personal process for me, and I put a lot of myself into each project I work on. So, I’m trying to get a thicker skin and not be so hard on myself when the first attempt at a project isn’t perfect. I’ve found having creative hobbies that are totally unrelated to the creative things I do for work is helpful. For example, I love taking pottery classes. I’m pretty bad at it, but it’s nice to let go and make something for the sake of making it, with no expectations for how it should look in the end. That way, I can focus on the process and not the product. It’s easy to lose track of that when you make your living from something creative!

visit ellie at mint or at hello tenfold.

i first met sara selepouchin, the brains behind girls can tell, through handmade in pa. her work is oh-so clever in both design & execution. using her background in architecture, sara dissects everyday objects, diagrams their parts, and turns them into detailed screen-printed images on other everyday objects. her work embodies the adage “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

i had to find out more about what drives sara’s deep passion for craft & community.

you’re a crafter, a teacher, a lover of everyday objects, a creative community advocate… what are your other passions? what’s really getting your creative juices flowing right now?

well, in all honestly, during the holidays, it’s more a matter of cranking out everything i designed during the year. when i am in design-mode (which i’m looking forward to for january!), i’m inspired by just the amazing little machines and things we surround ourselves with. how things come together to form new things is so intriguing to me. i like to try to make people see everyday things in a way they might not have thought about otherwise. i also really love connecting with other people in the handmade community.

tell me about an obstacle you overcame while turning your passion for craft into a business.

it was actually something of an obstacle that really allowed me to pursue my line full time. i was, slightly infamously, let go from my previous job (as the Etsy Teams coordinator for Etsy.com) quite unexpectedly. since i was completely submersed in the handmade world anyway, and had been printing my wares part time since early 2006, i took the plunge and decided to just work as hard as i could to make it happen and to build girlscantell into a real job. it seems to be working pretty well so far, though it is without a doubt the hardest job i’ve ever had, and completely life-consuming.

your work is based on the beauty & detail of everyday objects – function & art seem to be considered equally. tell me about your process in visualizing & designing a new product.

these days, most of my diagram ideas come from suggestions of other people (you can suggest a diagram at
girlscantell.com!). i do a lot of research in drawing up the illustration (fact checking!), and i’m actually very careful that all of my illustrations are similar in size and scale so that i can print them somewhat uniformly across my line of products. when i’m considering a new product, sourcing materials takes a long, long time – there are a lot of considerations to balance – environmental sustainability, durability, uniqueness, aesthetics, consistency, availability, and of course, cost. i’m always considering what i might want to do next. it’s fun to consider that the possibilities for my line right now seem pretty much endless.

tell me about something you struggle with on a daily basis living out your passion for craft, design, & community.

it’s difficult because i’m constantly battling this need i feel to do more to create a network of professional artisans, especially in philly, where there is so much talent. i’m kind of a ‘grass is always greener’ kind of person in that i’m just about always convinced that i could be doing more or changing things to make drastic improvements – it’s always ‘what’s next?’ with me. i think about opening a storefront. i think about opening a handmade business center. i think about hosting round table discussions. i think about expanding my line into more boutiques. i think about ways to teach more people to print. i think about how my business can contribute to the development of my neighborhood. that kind of thing. it’s a good quality to have (most of the time), the drive to constantly improve, but it also makes for some sleepless nights. it’s exhausting, but exhilarating.

i love all the fabulous designers i’ve met through twitter! [aside: seriously, twitter, what did i do without you?] this week, linda yesline, of aster & sage, answered my call for the next finding passion post subject. i’d not seen her work before, but i immediately fell in love with the bold colors, unique compositions, and clear focus of her line. her passion for eco-friendly crafting also drew me in! linda says her goal is to promote green ideals in two ways: “consumers are exposed to the possibilities of recycled materials, and our products’ popularity encourages fabric mills to manufacture material with recycled content”

you’re a passionate crafter, making handbags, jewelry, and other accessories, who’s also passionate about recycling and frugality. what else are you passionate about? and what’s really getting your creative juices flowing right now?

I adore thrift stores. I love that you can never predict what you’ll find. Thrift stores make me look at products in a different way. Almost everything in a thrift store was once mass-produced and was manufactured to be sold. Now these products are no longer wanted by their original owner, they have less monetary value, and even their utility is called into question. I look at the products and think about what it was, and what it could be… I might find a chipped china bowl that’s no longer good for the dinner table but could be a great water dish for my dog…thrift store shoppers are creative by necessity. I love getting thrown into a situation that forces me to be creative. I look at color and texture and I may not buy anything but I take home a lot of information about what I see.

Thrift stores get my creative juices flowing, but when it comes time to think about new product designs I get my inspiration from the library and from Twitter. I can never get enough information about art, design, cooking, and any kind of non-fiction that catches my interest. On Twitter I follow tons of design people who post links to art and design, and I’m constantly clicking on new links. I’m particularly interested in design from Japan and from Scandinavian countries and I think you can see their influence in my work. I also go to www.urbansketchers.com at least once a day to see what’s new– people from around the world post what they’ve drawn. I am fascinated by the drawings and accompanying commentary from the artists.

tell me about an obstacle you overcame while turning your passion for design & craft into a business.

It’s been hard for me to see myself as an artist. I didn’t got to art school until I was in my mid-twenties, and by then I was pretty sure I wasn’t a ‘real artist’. I didn’t know where I fit in– I graduated with a degree in industrial design, an experience I value dearly, but I never did feel like a designer either. I realized that being an artist is about sharing a unique perspective, so it’s probably for the best that I shy away from defining myself. That would kind of defeat the whole ‘unique perspective’ thing I’ve got going on.

you’re work is bold, colorful, and lots of fun! tell me about your process in visualizing & designing a new product.

I’ve always been jealous of people who make ceramics– all they have to do is order clay from a supplier and they’re done. I’ve spent so many many hours making phone calls and scouring the internet for materials I like. When I find the right material I try to think about what kinds of products would work with the material I have. I play around a lot with color combinations–that’s another limiting factor– I always wish I had better color options! I also play around on the sewing machine to see what ideas might develop. My blossom bracelets and pins came about that way; I had a lot of fabric scraps and I gave myself the challenge to use the shapes I had available.

tell me about something you struggle with on a daily basis in living our your passion for craft & design.

I know that I work my best when I give myself time to be creative every day. But the necessities of daily business: bookkeeping, marketing, production…they all eat into my creative time. I aim to give myself time to draw every day, though that’s a goal and not something I have been good at achieving. But I know that my creativity drives my business, and if I’m not creative it’ll all fall to pieces. So I take guitar lessons, color with my toddler’s crayons…I try to squeeze art into any spare time I have.

The one thing that does help me immensely is meditation. I set a timer for 8 minutes and I allow my mind to wander. It is such an effective way to recharge my brain. Ideally I’d do this every day too, but somehow I don’t always find 8 minutes in my day. Jeez, just admitting that hurts. Thank you, I will now be amending my actions immediately. If I don’t have 8 minutes for myself, that’s my own fault. [So now you know, most of my struggle is between me and myself!]

i first met jean from 3squares while researching crafty locales for my “shop local” series over on try handmade. i, too, share a passion for jean’s jewelry inspiration: food! she deftly & creatively takes everyday food items and creates modern, strong jewelry pieces in their image. keep reading for more information on how jean found her passion!

your line is based on the joy of food and your passion for metalsmithing. what other passions do you have? and what’s really inspiring you right now?

I’m passionate about comforting things. Good books. Old movies. Down comforters. Earl Grey. Cashmere. A robust bottle of red. Pasta. Sinatra. Sounds contrary to my modern tastes, but it’s true. Actually I’m not 100% sure, but I might be channeling my grandmother.

At the moment I am crazy into silk. I have a pile of scraps and more ideas than I can get out of my head, but I’m working on a bunch of new pieces combining metal and fabric. Love the unexpected combination of rustic, oxidized metal and bright, luscious silk.

tell me about an obstacle you overcame in finding your passion for jewelry making and turning that into a business.

I think the hardest part was preparing to take the plunge and quit my job to work full-time on my jewelry. I have a marketing degree and had worked hard to build a solid resume, but I knew I couldn’t keep with it forever – I was burning out. If I was going to make a change, I couldn’t wait much longer. But leaving the security of a “real” job is a scary thing, and I certainly couldn’t have done it without my husband’s support, literally and figuratively.

your work is geometric, colorful, and inspired by food! tell me about your design process in creating a new piece.

Many ideas are inspired by my habit of reading cookbooks. I have a collection of more than 100, and I read them like novels. Really, at least a couple are sitting on my nightstand as we speak. A recipe or ingredient can spark an idea for a shape, color or texture. I generally sketch out my thoughts, and those often mutate into other ideas until I have pages (or envelopes or napkins) full of variations on a theme.

tell me about something you struggle with on a daily basis in living out your passion for jewelry.

I struggle every day with finding the right balance. Funny how when you’re doing something you love, it can really consume you. My daughter tells me when it’s time to put the computer down, and I try and listen. And my husband (a bit of a neat freak) has relaxed his clutter standards a bit.

People talk about time seeming to move faster once you have a child, they grow up so fast. But running your own business makes time zip by even more quickly. For the first time I’ve realized the huge list of things I want to accomplish, and the small amount of time available to do them. But I guess that really does force you to prioritize and focus on the top of the list. At least I’m trying.

The kid says it’s time to put the laptop away now, but thanks for listening scoutie girl!

metalsmithed jewelry by 3squares :: $22-75

inspiration and passion often go hand in hand. khristian howell, a surface designer, photographer, and graphic designer, uses her passion for culture & travel to inspire her work. i wanted to find out more about the passion behind this versatile designer!

you’ve been working as an independent surface designer since may 2008 – you obviously have a passion for design! what other passions do you have? and what passion is really inspiring and motivating you right now?

Travel and education through travel. I never tire of getting on a new train, eating something I’ve never heard of, and laughing with a new friend. It keeps me going and passionate. Its like good food for the soul really. I think it is vital to teach the importance of travel.

tell me about one obstacle you had to overcome to realize your dream of working as an independent artist.

I think all artists struggle with self doubt and fear. In my case, I walked away from a great design job to pursue what my heart was aching to do. It was like jumping off a cliff. The good thing about jumping is that you get to fly, and I plan to stay in flight for quite awhile!

your work is full of bright colors, sophisticated shapes, and fun details. tell me about your process in creating a new design.

Sometimes I will start with a place I am dreaming about and build from there. Often I start with creating my color palette. Color is such an emotional experience to me that many times I might think up a really great color combination and the feeling is what leads me to what the group will be about. This was very much the case with “Mon Sheri” collection. From there I start with a core print and build out a supporting cast of coordinating prints.

what is something that you struggle with on a daily basis in living out your passion for design?

There are times that I struggle with balance. I have recently started scheduling days off and time for yoga and reading!! I know it sounds crazy, but I just get so carried away working because it just doesn’t feel like work. Sometimes I’ll stop and think to myself – wow, I have worked for ten days straight! I am working on getting a handle on it!

find out more about khristian on her website and blog.

all images are copyright khristian howell and may not be used without the artist’s permission.

fun! yup, that sums up kristal from rikrak. she’s fun, her designs are fun, even her blog is fun! but i knew there had to be more to her passion for craft than just fun – so i subjected her to “finding passion” and she obliged!

you’re a crafter, a blogger, a mom – you obviously have a lot of passions! what am i missing? and what are you most passionate about right now?

thanks so much for having me, nicey!

gosh. so many things: familying, mommying, making arts & crafts with my little sweetie, having 80’s dance parties in the living room, sending snail-mail letters, travelling near & far, picnicking, taking photographs, playing at the park on blue sky days, splashing in the puddles on grey sky days, having tea parties with dear friends, going on adventures with my cute husband, laughing with & learning from my wonderful mom, and playing games with anyone who’s willing!

tell me about an obstacle you overcame in becoming a full-time creator. how did that obstacle shape your business and your attitude towards your craft?

figuring out my strengths and working to them. we live in a great little place in the heart of our beautiful city and we don’t have much extra room for a full-time at-home business. so, our dining room does double-duty as family table by day, craft studio by night. spending money on advertising was an expense my little business couldn’t afford at the start, so instead, i focus on my adoration of photography, and spend a lot of time taking the best pictures I can. i use an inexpensive point and shoot camera, and only natural window-light in all of my photos (even though waiting for a sunny day can sometimes require patience, especially during those long winter months in Ottawa!) i think the time investment of making great pictures has really been a good one!

i’d encourage anyone who has a dream to create full time, to work toward their strengths, little bit by little bit, and get creative about problem-solving! believe in yourself, and see if you can find a way to make obstacles into opportunities.

your pieces are bright, clean, modern, and eco-friendly – tell me about your process in designing a new piece.

oh thanks so much, scoutiegirl. that’s so nice of you.

gosh – to be honest, quite a few elements are part of the process. firstly, i get crazily excited about the interaction between light, colour, patterns & shapes. so i feel lucky to always have new little designs spinning around in my head as we take a walk, or cook dinner. i also adore the nostalgia & history behind vintage textiles, and the way they seem to inherently inspire fun & functional patchwork goodies in my head. so that is often how the designs are born. and i’m not much of a sketcher – i like to create at the sewing machine. so i often take the hatchling of an idea and the materials and sit down at the sewing machine and get creating!

what do you struggle with on a daily basis in living out your passion for craft?

like many of us, finding a balance between all of those passions we’ve been chatting about has been an obstacle sometimes for me: that age-old quest for balance as a mommy, a creator, a fun friend & partner & daughter, etc. (insert whatever each of us yearns to do the best we can at here!)

after we had our little sweetie was the time when we also decided to try my designing full time, so that one of us could always be home with little rikrak. this, of course, has many delights & challenges associated with it, especially regarding finding balance! yet those teeny tiny spurts of time (when little rikrak would take a mini-nap; when sleep came at night, etc) made me eventually able to focus on setting little mini-goals on a daily basis. i found this to be a most successful way to accomplish things and find some semblance of personal success, too. i found personal and crafting success in this way, too: today we’ll go to the park, i’ll try to write a note to a loved one, i’ll have a little tea party with mr. rikrak. i’ll try to cut out 2 stockings. done. while it might not sound like much, setting myself up for success, what I could actually reasonably accomplish in a day while being a full-time mommy, too, and setting do-able tangible goals, helped me build my little business, and feel truly happy in life, teeny bit by teeny bit.

i still struggle with this sometimes, but would highly recommend that starting with small steps toward reaching your dreams, breaking it down into achievable goals, brainstorming creative problem-solving ideas where need be, and trying to add a variety of great things you love into everyday, no matter how small, has been a helpful way for me to grow my little business.finding success in little things: it’s a great life lesson my parents taught me. and as a now full-time creator, i think it helps me to plan my days and get stuff done! hopefully !:)

visit kristal at her etsy shop or at her fab blog.

i discovered sarah john afana on the etsy front page last week and new she would be perfect for “finding passion.” her faceless figures, haunting abstract landscapes, hand-painted ornaments, and endless passion for her art represent exactly what i’m looking for! you can find her work in her fine art shop, sarah john afana, and her craft shop, schemata.

you’re a fine artist, photographer, and knitter. anything else? which are you most passionate about right now?

“Right now” changes from hour to hour. As you mentioned I work in a variety of media so it’s really a matter of what needs the most attention. This is my first year selling my hand painted glass ornaments online so I am preparing inventory for two gallery locations and two online marketplaces. Sundays I am fortunate enough to get out to the beach for some surfing and photography. My Surfer Series of paintings is all worked from photographs and having just the right action photo to work from takes perfect timing. Although crafting media may be consuming more of my studio time at the moment, I am constantly thinking about my next painting I can’t wait to start.

tell me about an obstacle you overcame in becoming a full-time creator.

I think like most artists you talk to, the business of being an artist is a huge obstacle. Finding the ability to market and promote sales while still trying to maintain the creative time in the studio is a difficult balance. For me, living in a rather rural part of California, the opportunity to market and sell my work was very limited. While it might sound cliché, having the technology that is available now has allowed me the opportunity to be selling and shipping around the world. By having an online presence with the venues and social networking that is available along with digital cameras and the professional print quality at home, I am no longer limited to what is locally accessible for me.

your paintings are evocative, full of motion, and feature interesting techniques. tell me about your process in envisioning and creating a new piece.

While my Surfer and Figure Series’ are created from photographs much of my work begins very organically. When working in acrylic I cover the entire surface with 1-3 colors and pour or spray with rubbing alcohol for a resist effect. Once that dries I can general see a texture or a pattern that intrigues me to work into the final image. Sometimes it’s that pattern that ends up being the focus for an abstract piece. I enjoy working expressively and letting the materials and textures guide the direction while trying to work an image I want out of them.

what do you struggle with daily in living out your passion as a working artist?

Focusing, since I enjoy working in so many media I have a tendency to bounce from project to project. Lately my days go like this; I will do some of the business of being an artist (emailing, listing work for sale, packing and shipping), spend an hour or two on a batch of ornaments, either photograph new work or edit photographs, find time to knit if possible, and somewhere in there find time to maintain daily life. The BEST days are the ones I know I will get a block of hours of painting time in the studio. I have thousands of photographs to be edited and manipulated for new paintings, if I could just obtain the time to focus on them.

find sarah’s work at her fine art shop and her craft shop, featuring ornaments & knits.

arosha taglia, a native of italy now living in israel, strives to bring the art of communication to his craft. his jewelry speaks on many levels: high design, effortless beauty, and an attitude of strong femininity. each piece he creates is also born of his love of sculpting. you will find 3 distinct but related styles in his 3 online shops – click each image to be taken to the shop of your choice! i asked arosha to tell me more about how he found his passion for jewelry design:

you’re currently working in metals, silk, and plastics. what technique/medium are you most passionate about right now? are you working on adding more techniques to your collection?

In my work, I already used almost every material possible. I like to pass from one to the other, as my intuition guides me. At the present, I particularly love my latest plastic collection, which is the most innovative line I’m working on. I’m also loving the silver collection, which enables buyers to have a good level product with an original, cutting-edge design.

tell me about an obstacle you overcame in becoming a full-time creator.

To be a full-time creator is always a jump into the unknown. The obstacles have usually been related to my difficulty of having to market my work, which is almost fully done of unique pieces and small collections. Most of my recent results should be attributed to my partner in work and life, that is managing with intelligence and attention the commercial part of my work, giving me freedom to develop the creative and technical part of my work.

your designs are innovative, modern, strong but distinctly feminine: describe your process in designing a new product.

I don’t follow a fixed structure. Some of my jewels are computer designed, but the majority are handmade. I follow all kinds of inspirations – some from nature, some from geometry, some from the material itself, some from an abstract idea, some from my work as a sculpture. I usually develop a theme in a few pieces, allowing the fantasy to be as free as possible. This is the reason why the dimension and shape of the jewels is often uncommon. I create for customers who love cleannes and uniqueness, that are not interested in brands but look for an artistic point of view.

what do you struggle with daily in living out your passion for jewelry?

Creating jewelry is not my only passion.. I’m a very eclectic artist, and my work touches almost all the visual communication arts. So I alternate the jewelry design work with painting and sculpturing. I also practice meditation and I’m preparing a workshop that combines meditation, painting and theater as means of self-development. I think that living my life to its maximal intensity, and developing all the sides of my personality, is the best way to preserve my passion.

if you weren’t designing for a living, what other passion might you like to pursue full-time?

I’m proud to have the courage to do what I love most in life, and I challenge myself in many fields. The only other thing I would have been doing with pleasure is enjoying life and meditating on a far away tropical island.. Other than that – I’m living my life with passion and I’m passionate about everything I do.

to view each of arosha’s collections, click the corresponding image.

cathe huynh-sison, the designer behind feterie, isn’t new to the pages of scoutie girl. but i was dying to know more about what makes her tick as a creator. in addition to designing beautiful stationery, wrapping paper, greeting cards, and other paper lovelies, cathe blogs about her creative journey at papercuts – a real archetype for blogging one’s inspiration & process.

you’re stationery designer, a mom, a wife, a blogger, a traveler… what are you most passionate about right now? what really gets your juices flowing now?

I’m passionate about so many things, but I am most passionate about my family — my son, husband and the baby girl that we are about to welcome into the world in a few months. What always really get my juices flowing is when I do the most mundane thing in my daily life that suddenly sparks an idea (or multiple ideas). It can be taking a walk to the park with my son or trying to organize my schedule for the day, that I find inspiration.

tell me about an obstacle that you overcame in becoming a full-time creator.

As a designer, the business side of things such as sales and marketing is something that has been an constant obstacle. I’ve come to realize that I can design and develop as many products as I can, but if I don’t get out there and do the sales and marketing dance for it no one is going to know about it or want to buy! While I can’t say that I have overcome this obstacle, it is an on-going goal that requires development every single day.

your designs are crisp, clean, and modern: describe your process in designing a new product.

I’m a designer who likes to solve problems. Many times an idea for a product comes to me as a result of trying to figure out how to make something better or provide an alternative to an existing product. Usually, I think of the function first and then the form will follow. It’s a process that I have learned from design school that has really worked well with my process in developing a new product. As for my designs (I’m currently obsessed with creating patterns), I keep a sketchbook where I doodle and make notes about ideas. Many of these ideas can incubate in my brain for quite some time until they are ready. I call this the “doodling and noodling” phase. Once I feel that it is ready, I refine the design with the old school method of more paper and pen/pencil sketches before another further refinement (finally) digitally on the computer. The final steps is always fun for me because it involves mocking up the final product.

what do you struggle with on a daily basis in living out your passion as a designer?

The work/life balance is a big daily struggle for me. Everyday is a different day, in which I wear a different hat at various times throughout the day solving different problems — whether it’s meeting a deadline for a project, setting time out to fill orders/make phone calls, taking my son to preschool or the park, or helping my parents with some sort of medical paperwork that needs translating. I call it my “Daily Circus.” There are at least 3 things that I can be found doing during the day and finding that balance (which I have yet to find) to equally tackle all of them is challenging. Sometimes I focus on one more than the other and the next day, I make an effort to make up for the one that was neglected. It’s not a perfect juggle, but it’s still an juggling act!

if you weren’t designing for a living, what passion would you like to pursue full-time?

Design is in my blood, the air I breathe in, and if I didn’t do it for a living I have no idea what else I would do. Perhaps if money was not an issue, I would travel part of the year because that is when I understand myself better and connect more with world, start an afterschool arts program because that is lacking in our public school system, open a gallery (because I have always wanted to), or even go back to school and be an architect! Whatever it is, it would be in the arts/design field.

***

you can find cathe’s “passion is” interview right here.

and you can purchase items from feterie in cathe’s online shop.

scoutie girl is looking to interview you! have a passion for art, craft, or design? let me know and your passion might be the one we find next!

ruth baillie, from birdland creations, creates whimsical jewelry from fine silver metal clay. her pieces include anything from cityscape to woodland motifs. each piece is one-of-a-kind and hand-sculpted – a fact ruth is quite passionate about! read on to find out more about ruth’s passion and how she found it.

your craft is fine silver jewelry made from metal clay. what are your other interests and what are you most passionate about right now?

I have many things that I love in life – including singing, nature, birds, my pet parrot, traveling…….As I sit writing this, I look out of the window
and see so many birds, and some rabbits and deer on the hill….I treasure those sweet pleasures that I am lucky enough to find every day.

My big passion however is my jewelry business. I get such excitement when I come up with a new design or finish a new piece and equally,
when someone tells me how my jewelry made them smile or lifted their sprits.

tell me about one obstacle you overcame in discovering your passion for jewelry design and making it your career.

I think one of my biggest obstacles was my own perception of “me”. I had been trained and worked as a scientist all my life. That was who I was
and I had never done anything artistic. And now here I was, doing creative things? It took quite a while for it to sit right with me…. who was this
scientist “pretending” she was an artist? Just telling people what I did was difficult at first, I guess because I didn’t quite believe I could do it. But then my
confidence grew, and now I don’t have any problems telling people my story! I now find I use my scientific background in my creative work, so what
seemed like two opposing parts, are now just me. Believing in yourself is big part of making changes.

your designs are quirky and whimsical but also refined. how do you conceptualize a new design and bring it into being?

Emotions are a key part in my design process. If someone comes to me with a commission, for example, they want “something” for a friend, I ask them about
what emotion they want to convey in the gift and what does that friend mean to them. Then I get to hear their story and find a way to convey the emotion they
want from the gift. If you look at my website, you’ll see that all my jewelry is categorized into what emotions they will elicit (or aim to elicit) like playfulness, serenity,
comfort, etc. I think this way of conceptualizing stems from another part of my background, when I studied and trained as a health psychologist and did volunteer
work in counseling. I want what I create to lift peoples’ spirit and help them find something positive to think about….like my “anyone can…” series of jewelry, instilling
a sense of positiveness.

Other aspects then combine with the emotions to develop ideas. For example, my joy of singing comes through as I’ll be wandering around the house, singing or
whistling and then realize the words I’ve sung, and ta da! – I’ve come up with a new design for jewelry. As you look at my work, you’ll see many of my
pieces are named from song lyrics or famous quotations or poetry. Other inspiration comes from nature all around me. I think the name of a piece is an
integral part of any piece and most often, the name comes first, before I create it.

I find it funny that my work is always described as whimsical – yet I was born and lived in England until the mid 90’s and had never even heard the word
‘whimsical’ until I started making jewelry! I’ve don’t even know what word I would have used in England to describe it! But that whimsy just seems to
want to come out.

tell me about something you struggle with on a daily basis as a creator.

Apart from the usual time problem that I think everyone struggles with, I think I have to keep reminding myself of why I am doing this and what it is all about.
I call it avoiding “mission drift”. There are opportunities or new business ideas all the time, but I work hard at checking to see if these fit into my “mission” and
why I am doing this. It’s so easy to get caught up in something and find it takes you away from your real passion and joy. For example, someone might ask for a
large wholesale order. Sure, that would be good money coming in, but if it means I’m sitting making the same thing over and over, then I won’t do it. I love the
one of a kind pieces I make or small limited editions (up to 3). They are the pieces that I get excited about, that is why I started doing this as I am passionate about
it, but not doing the same thing over and over. Even when I make 3 pieces, each is slightly different from the other as they are hand sculpted. I know that if I keep
to my “mission” then my passion for what I do is strong and I am happy and more ideas come to me!

hand-sculpted fine silver jewelry by birdland creations :: $65-300+