Hello Everyone!!
I am terribly sorry for not being able to keep up with the featured artist like I wish i could of because of everything that is going on! =[ Well, Anyway!! Onto our lovely featured artist! This artist makes jewelry in the tribal and complementary style which I, owner of Keaki Designs, happens to love. Her work is amazing and I wish she gets many sales and wish list from all her hard work!
ChrysalisJewelry
This lovely little business is run by Gloria from her little dwelling in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Gloria once said "Ethnic and tribal art is fascinating to me. My admiration of the handmade and slightly imperfect lends character to my work." And some of her interest consist of Dabbling in metal clay and also in forging my own metal components. I cannot decide on one or the other, so I will do both for awhile and see what happens. And what is her techniques? well Mixed metals in jewelry, applying patinas to components for unusual effects, forming my own findings from copper and brass, creating silver metal clay charms and links. Using earthy materials like bone, horn, beach stones and recycled materials when possible. Gloria told us "I try to carry a rustic, primitive character throughout my pieces. I want them to look like they are ancient pieces that have just been uncovered after being hidden for centuries."
Love Happens In the Form of Her Hobbies
For the summer at least, art is Gloria's full time job! She fills in with part time jobs when necessary but her mind is filled with ideas for jewelry. She dabbles in gardening, like hiking and fishing, love traveling to Mexico with her husband. Gloria told us "I speak passable Spanish so we don’t get into too much trouble there." My first motivation to get into making jewelry was Sundance." Gloria absolutely loves their jewelry and have several pieces of it. She happens to enjoy wearing rings, bracelets and earrings. But she was on a budget and it seemed like a good idea to try making her own. After about a year, I did a few shows and people seemed to like what she was doing, so it grew into an obsession for Gloria She ended telling us "I've always been interested in art, drawing and painting for most of my life. But here was an opportunity to build something that could actually provide some income as well as feed my creative appetite." After several years of doing art shows with her husband at her side, where the sales were very unpredictable and they were at the mercy of the weather, she decided to make the move to online sales. Gloria then told us" Anyone who has done this will know that the most difficult part of selling online is getting noticed! Two years went by with virtually no sales activity. Then I happened to get on Facebook, made friends with some amazing jewelry artists who had more experience in this area of sales, and paid close attention to what they were doing to present their jewelry. They all had compelling photos of each piece of jewelry, and that’s where I needed improvement. It really made a huge difference. So I will continue to evolve in my tribal contemporary style, try to connect with people who might help extend my audience, and possibly expand into selling components as well (but only if I can come up with a truly original idea). I am basicly a shy person, so maybe I should submit designs to magazines and join in more beading challenges? I have only done one challenge, in a recycled glass jewelry category, which I won." Which by the Gloria, I think that is a wonderful idea! You should go for it, and try and have some fun with it, even with the components, who knows, I may buy some from you myself =].
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Gloria soon told us that her personal taste in jewelry is definitely ethnic! She excitedly told us "I love earrings, beaded or metal, that have a personality. Show me something with handmade ceramic, lampwork, hand forged metal, bone – you get the idea -- My favorite combination of colors is turquoise with almost any gold, brown or rusty red." And Gloria's latest addiction is Pinterest! It’s a virtual escape in the middle of her day. Build your own colorful paradise with all the things that make you feel good without having undesirable after effects. "For me, it’s a dose of stimulation!" Gloria said.
When An Hobbie Becomes A Obsession For An Artist
The name of Gloria's studio is Chrysalis Jewelry. She chose that name because it represents a new phase in her life, like a chrysalis is transforming from a larvae to a winged creature." I do define myself as an artist. Outside of my family, art is the one thing that I do that is truly gratifying." Gloria told us when we asked her if she thought of herself as an artist. The amount of time she spends on creating and promoting varies with my mood. If she is feeling moved, Gloria will spend the entire day creating, because there will always be days when she is not feeling inspired. Those days can be used for organizing her studio, photography, and marketing tasks. Gloria's first attempts at selling online through her own website and her first Etsy shop were a total bust. With so much competition online, she had to find ways to set herself apart from the others and it is an ongoing obstacle. Gloria then responded to our question of how long has she been doing this with " I have only been making jewelry for about 7 years." Since every piece Gloria creates is essentially an experiment, she does not feel qualified to teach jewelry making or sell tutorials of techniques. However if someone asks where she found a particular component, she is happy to pass along information to them. When we asked her about Customers and Selling at fairs she responded with" There is plenty of inventory for displaying at a gallery which I do occasionally, but I prefer to leave the art fairs and festivals to younger artists who have the stamina to do them. And when it comes to customers It is very satisfying when I get positive comments from online customers. Every once in awhile there will be a person who is difficult to deal with, but that is true of any business and I just chalk it up to their insecurity." Designs come in different ways. Sometimes she will stare at the focal beads for weeks waiting for an idea worth pursuing. Other times, she will be trying to sleep at night with all kinds of ideas swirling around in her head. But Gloria can usually picture the end result before she begins. She then told us when we asked what materials she uses" I work with semi-precious stones, recycled glass, bone, horn, handmade ceramic and lampwork glass, silver, copper and brass, and sometimes leather." We then asked what is one thing that annoys her about her craft she told us" It can be frustrating when a design just isn’t coming together the way I pictured it. When I finally get it, then all the agonizing was worthwhile." But then when we asked her what she would say for advise to someone starting out Gloria nicely mentioned "My best advice to someone starting out in the jewelry business is “Unless jewelry is the thing you think about day and night, you should probably just have it as a hobby” and You may regret it later if you never try something that interests you. Maybe I am just an undisciplined personality, but I do not want to spend my entire life doing what other people think I should be doing."
Then we started to ask whom she looks up to in her craft and she told us her role models are Jes MaHarry and Naomi Herndon from Sundance, and Kristi Bowman-Gruel and Keirsten Giles who have been her inspirations from Facebook. All of these artists are innovative and unafraid to stretch the boundaries in their area of specialty. These are women with a very recognizable style. And when it comes to things she is apart of she told us Artfire guilds are Checked In Today, Minnesota Shop Local, and Jewelry Artists from All Over. Minneapolis Etsy Team and Southwestern Vibe on Etsy.
Then when we asked her if she had any plans for her business she told us "My business plan is flexible to a degree is Price my work appropriately, Only spend a certain percentage of sales dollars on new materials, Be prepared for new opportunities with a portfolio of my work and a slide presentation for business to business use.,and Make use of social networking, although I’m still afraid of blogging.Honestly, I would hire someone to write my blog." but then we asked her to sum everything up, Gloria said" My Artfire studio announcement talks about why people are drawn to a particular piece of jewelry. If it speaks to you, it reveals something about yourself. The fact that I created it, reveals something about me as well. If you buy it and wear it, the jewelry is a bond between us.and sales are at 42 and I am hoping to see that number continue to rise as we move into autumn and winter."
When Love Meets Three Wonderful Pieces
One of the pieces Chrysalis creates and asked us to show everyone and review is Spiney Oyster Hill Tribe Silver Choker Necklace OOAK Handmade Primitive. Her vision is of dancers around a bonfire on a beach with the sparks from the fire lighting their faces. The dancers wear expressive robes and adornments that give us a glimpse of who they are inside. Let out the wild inner you when you wear this daring colorful necklace. Wow! What a wonderful piece this is. When i first saw it, I was taken aback, and being Native American I loves how this looks! The Price for this item is US $92.00. Gloria told us "I love the color combination of the spiney oyster and green turquoise with the Thai Hill Tribe silver."
The second Item Gloria asked us to look at and review is Turquoise Sterling Silver Bracelet Southwestern OOAK. This item has been sold but her inspiration and story behind it is the assortment of colors reminds her of the 1930s, when drifters would ride the rails and camp out at night. They would sit around a campfire and entertain one another by telling their colorful stories. Just think of some of Woody Guthrie's songs. Gloria even mentioned " Again you see the turquoise with some of the colors that I love to combine."
And lastly the Paisley Copper Earrings Hoop Mixed Metal OOAK.
This item is also sold but her inspiration behind this is the fact that she adores hoop earrings but wanted to put a new twist on the old standard. Something original that would really catch the eye and get noticed! These striking earrings have that quality and reflect my studio theme of "tribal and contemporary" very well. And gloria told us" A collaboration with one of my fellow jewelry artists, Kristi Bowman-Gruel, in which the paisley copper components are her work while the hammered bowed bars and the design are mine."
Links to Find Chrysalis:
Store: ChrysalisJewelry
Etsy Store: ChrysalisToo
Facebook:ChrysalisOriginals
Tumblr:chrysalisjewelry
Pinterest:chrysalistoo
We like to formally thank you from Keaki Designs to Chrysalis Jewelry for letting us give you a interview, and supporting you for all your hard work. All your piece's are absolutely breath takingly beautiful and we wish you all the luck with your sales. That way you get even more! Much love and wishes to you Gloria and Hope your business continues to thrive! <3
~Kri
Keaki Designs
