Friday, July 29, 2011

Friday Feature ~Dee's Adornments~

This week I'm featuring a beautiful Jewelry shop, Dee's Adornments. Her shop is full of unique and beautiful jewelry. She has many earrings, as well as bracelets and necklaces. From the photos of her work you can see the quality and time spent to make these items look their best! Please read our Interview with her to find out more about her and her shop. Also enjoy these wonderful pictures of items in her shop.



1. Could you give me a little background information about you and your shop?


I started making jewelry as a hobby and quickly found that I wanted to make more than I'd ever wear, or could afford to keep! When people kept asking how much something would cost and if I sold my pieces, I thought why not have a try at making this a business? I've sold artistic works before, I used to do stained glass and mosaics, but I have dogs so I have to do that kind of work outside.

I really enjoy experimenting with new techniques and combinations of things. It's a lot of fun to try putting together unexpected colors, for example, and hear people's reactions. And while trying a technique I've never done before can result in a lot of cursing, it's also incredibly satisfying to finally "get" it. Ultimately, I think I just get a ton of pleasure out of making beautiful things that people enjoy.

2. How did you get started in your craft?

It all started with me wanting to get out more and work with my hands and meet more people locally. Rather than being banished outside to do stained glass work, I was looking for a hobby I could do indoors, and ended up choosing a series of jewelry-making classes at a local rec center. No one warned me it was addictive!
 
                                                                          3. How did you come up with your shop name?

I changed my mind a ton of times. I'm a writer in my "day job" so I kept wanting to come up with something creative and evocative, but at the same time I needed something that was actually available on Etsy and as a domain name. It was important to me to not box myself in too much, so I decided on Dee's Adornments to combine my name and something that evokes making things prettier without limiting myself to just jewelry in case I branch out. 

If I hadn't been so ready to open my shop I might still be arguing with myself over the perfect name.




4. How long have you been doing your craft?

Not very long. I just got started last year. But, because I purchased supplies with Christmas gifts and selling things in mind, I've done a ton of it. :)

5. Where else can we find you?

Jewelry:
Etsy
Twitter
Facebook
WordPress


Day/Other:
Tech writing/journalism day job
Writing about surviving as a freelancer/self-employed person

6. Anything else you would like to tell us or include?

I feel in some ways like I didn't have to start from scratch, because I've been self-employed most of my adult life. I've had to learn tons about selling and marketing jewelry in particular and other items involving retail and Etsy, but there are a lot of skills that translate too. Running a shop on Etsy and always striving to perfect how you do it is actually a great and practical skillset to take with you to other places.

I hope you enjoy this feature! If you do please leave a comment so that Dee's Adornments and Myself my take a look! Have a wonderful day!