The search for handcrafted artisan jewelry goes on. I think that term covers a wide range of handmade jewelry, so you never know what might turn up! But I consider my own handmade artisan jewelry something unique to animal lovers specifically. Why animal jewelry? Well, that goes back to the beginning of The Magic Zoo and even before that!
Special Handcrafted Artisan Jewelry for Animal Lovers
I am an animal lover from way back. And early on I combined this fascination with animals, nature and art. The kids in our family were big on drawing, so lots of cats, ducks and other creatures showed up in our homemade art comics.
Of course I didn’t make handcrafted artisan jewelry back then (except for the acorn earrings I made for my mom on her birthday and handmade necklaces made from clover flowers) but even then I appreciated handmade jewelry and other things made by artists. Growing up with two parents who were artists themselves certainly helped.
We always had pets in our household. So animals were an influence starting at a very young age.
At age age 6 I told my mother that I was going to be an artist when I grew up. Since then, my goal in life has been to create. Combining that early love of animals with an ability to created handcrafted artisan jewelry has held me in good stead all these many years.
In the early 1980s I decided that I would be an animal jewelry artist. I actually remember where I was when I made that decision! I had seen lots of things for sale in mall shows, and was determined that what I sold would be handmade jewelry that I would create myself. I had no doubt that this would succeed. This was due in no small part to the fact that I had a mother who had made it on her own in the arts. And raised 4 children at the same time!
Unique Necklaces Became Popular, Give The Magic Zoo a Boost!
I love trying out new ideas. In 1990, I thought it would be kind of fun to come up with some unique necklaces to display at one of my art shows. These were a great hit. Since that time, handcrafted earrings, pins and hair clips were added to my line. Back then I was still making items one at a time in clay, which was a very labor intensive operation.
My hands ached after a while, and I thought there might be a better way to design things than one at a time.
I Discovered my Jewelry could be Cast
Hurrah! I could still make unique jewelry and take care of my hands at the same time! With the discovery of US casters who worked exclusively to reproduce the work of jewelry artists, I was freed up to do what I loved best: Creating my own artisan jewelry. I could create one design, then go on to something else. I was no longer a one-woman factory.
This was a big relief.
And it opened up a lot of new doors. My designer jewelry was unique to me, and I could let others help me in the actual reproduction of the pieces. It was heaven! I worked just as hard as ever, but with the casting process in place, my handmade jewelry designs quickly expanded. From a few hundred designs, I exploded to more than 1400 new pieces.
Making a living as a jewelry artist is extremely satisfying. And if all I did was create new handcrafted jewelry designs at will, all would be ideal. But of course, as every entrepreneur knows, there are many business hats to wear. But as long as I can create unique, handcrafted artisan jewelry I will be happy!
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