I am proud to be making a post for another amazing Etsy seller that will be vending with me this Saturday! She is an amazing artist making unique jewelry out of everyday items that she has recycled and re-purposed to become awesome pieces that make great accessories and gifts!
My name is Melissa and I live in the suburbs of Baltimore with my feline
companion, a very chubby Tuxedo named 35. By day, I work at a
non-profit human services agency that serves adults with developmental
disabilities, Athelas Institute in Columbia, Maryland. My educational
background is in art, I have a AA from The Community College of
Baltimore County. In addition to fine art, I've studied computer
graphics, dance, and music.
1. What types of items do you make?
Unique one-of-a-kind jewelry made from recycled computer keyboards,
vintage game pieces, dominoes, guitar picks and other found and altered
objects.
2. How long have you been crafting and how long have you been selling on Etsy?
Since I was a small child. I've always loved to "make things" and
explore and collect.
My grandmothers were two very different women and I had the great
fortune of being able to spend lots of time with them both growing up.
Both of their influences can be seen in my work.
On the one hand, my "Mama" taught me to sew and rummage around rummage
sales, thrift stores, attics and basements, looking for "the good
stuff." She and my grandfather had a summer home on the Chesapeake Bay
near Calvert Cliffs, where we would spend long days digging for
fossils and combing the beach for any treasures the waves had washed up
and deposited.
My "Dee Dee" on the other hand, took me for long walks in the woods and
taught me to love and admire nature, she took me to the movies, where I
developed my love for film, she loved to collect photographs and
installed in me a love for photography and capturing and preserving
images of things that I love.
Now I spend my winter weekends in thrift stores and antique shops
looking for what I consider "the good stuff." I salvage what I can to
turn into something beautiful and new. Summers are spent in secret spots searching for sea glass or looking
through the forest for bottle dumps or any other discarded items from
yesterday that I can renew and make useful again.
My Etsy shop has been open since September of 2011.
3. What is your most favorite item that is currently listed in your shop and why? (ie was it challenging, something new..)
I am fond of
this piece, in particular. I love the colors, blue is my favorite. The vintage
feel and the theme of flying away to a distant place combined with those
dark blues, gives it a very dreamy feel.
4. How would you describe your process?
I don't really know
if it could be considered a process but here's how it goes. I find
trash, I bring it home, I stare at it for a while and suddenly I yell
out, "YES," and something new is born. Or, that's it in a nutshell.
Seriously, sometimes I just pick something up and buy it with no idea
what's going to happen to it, just a thought that I can do something
with it. sometimes before I get home, I know the answer and sometimes
it sits on a shelf and in the back of my mind for months before an idea
comes.
5.Are you working on anything new that you would like to share with my readers?
Right now, I'm working on staining, stamping and decoupaging domino
pendants. This is a new project for me and I absolutely love making
them. I think that these pendants allow for a lot more artistic
expression than my previous projects have and I like the ethereal feel that they have.
6. Is there any new item or even different type of medium, art, or craft
that you would like to start working with? If so. what is it?
I've
learned how to drill my beach glass, which has opened up a whole world
of possibilities in that area. I bought a metal stamping kit a few
weeks ago and haven't really done anything with it yet. My hope is to
learn the metal stamping and oxidation process then combine handmade
stamped charms with the beach glass for some pendants and earrings.
7. Since you are from Maryland, What is your favorite place to visit in
Baltimore and why? If you don't do Baltimore, you can say somewhere else that is local ;)
My
favorite place to visit in Baltimore is Hampden. Why? Because it IS
Baltimore. I love the shops, I love the people, I love the food, the
festivals, the atmosphere ...
8. What advice would you give to a knew Etsy seller?
New
Etsy sellers, be patient and persistent, sales don't happen overnight
and they also aren't delivered by the sales faery. You have to work
hard, network, join groups, grow your circle, promote, promote, promote,
make friends and most of all have fun!
If you would like to get more info about this seller, events, and her shop, please check her out on
Facebook and
Twitter as well as her
Etsy Shop.
You can also buy some of her awesome items this Saturday at The Day With The Girls event this Saturday! Check my
Facebook Fan Page for more details!
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