Dreams and Jewelry was kind enough to spend some time with me recently. See what she has to say about her creative process when whipping up her fine wears!
What products do you carry in your shop?
I create metalsmithed, pmc and enamel jewelry in my shop. I have a little bit of everything since I'm still in the process of narrowing down and refining my line.
Can you share a favorite marketing idea?
Blogging. I love blogging about artists and artisans and it's a great way to get exposure.How about a favorite advertising venture? I really think if there's a magazine that you love, check out their advertising costs...it's worth it to get exposure in a magazine if you can.
Have you always been crafty?
Yes, since I was little. I used to sew my own Barbie clothes and eventually moved on to sewing my own skirts in middle school. I've done a little bit of everything from faux finishing client's homes, sewing window treatments and custom pillows to painting art and now metal smithing. I've even built my husband's computer by purchasing the parts (motherboard, processor, heatsink, fan, drives, etc)buying an empty case and just going for it. I love it all.
Let's say you have an idea for a new product. Do you talk it over with girlfriends, sketch it out, start with a color scheme? Can you tell us something about your creative process?
I'm pretty erratic and unorganized. I just go out in my studio, get my tools ready and wait until something comes to me. I really need to write out my ideas, but I don't work that way.
What do you most enjoy about what you do? For me there are so many things, the feel of the paper, smell of the ink...I like arranging piles of creations on a table...But, what is it for you?
I just love the torch. For me, it's working with silver and seeing what I can create free form and the soft orange glow of the metal heating up. The quenching part is also my favorite part..there's something about taking a hot piece of metal and dunking it in cool water and the loud fizzle sound that comes after. It's almost like it makes the sound "quench".
What other activities do you enjoy?
Anything computer related. I like playing around in Photoshop downloading new brushes and textures to play with.
Were you parents crafty too?
Yes, my mother is a jack of all trades as well, that's where my creativity comes from.
Can you tell me, how you store your projects and supplies? (can you tell I'm desperate for a miracle myself?)
I went to Target and bought the plastic wall hanging garage organizers meant for nuts and bolts, used my label machine to make nice clear labels and put all of my findings, gemstones, and finished jewelry in their own Ziplock bags with the prices listed for easy access. I purchased two and stacked them so one is dedicated to unfinished parts and the other is for finished pieces..It makes it very easy to find things in a pinch.
Do you work outside the home?
I used to. The company I worked for closed the CA office so I decided to take a breather and now I'm doing great with my jewelry sales from my website and various craft shows so I may not return to the daily grind for a while.
Painted toes or natural? When you think of the summer months as they roll in, what do you think of most?
Painted toes! I right now have a deep, inky Gothic red on my toes and I love it. I saw the color in Lucky Mag and thought it was a nice look.
Andrea! Deep red is one of my fave summertime toe fashions too! In fact, my current fave red is Revlon brand~Valentine~ yumism.
Thanks so much for the time Andrea!
This is another component from one of my sample custom stationery packs created from my friend Rowan's artwork. Creating these stationery packs are so fun for me especially when I can take something totally abstract and ad a few simple elements to make funky creatures such as this gator face. Then I added flowers and ground cover by creating a pattern with some of Rowan's painting. These cards really did turn out fabulous!
