This is part two, of three blog posts for the Build a Line Challenge. This class is designed and hosted by Brenda Sue Lansdowne of Bsueboutiques.com
I am a lover of all things creative. When I was little, my mom found an old school desk that was placed in the window of my room. I painted there everyday. It was a great place to get lost in creativity and still be under the love and safety of our roof. I still have this desk( it is in need of refinishing,) but I am so thankful that I held on to it all of these years.
This book made popular in the 80's was the " GO TO " for determining what colors looked best by your skin tone, natural hair and eye color. This is not only meant for clothing though. It is valuable information for jewelry designers, as they create their line or do custom designs. For me,I am a Fall.My surroundings reflect that. My house color is a warm color....all of my rooms are warm toned, most of my closet is warm. So why does my bead hoard ( if you will ) mostly reflect blues , purples, greens? Hmmmm....maybe my design choices reflect more of what I observe on the outside, rather than me on a personal level. I will have to ponder that for the next blogpost!
In this past month, we have also been looking at Design Influences and learning to take a hard look at our own work to determine where they fall in line with style.We are all influenced by someone. As youngsters, just becoming observant, it was by our family members and neighbors. In time we then slowly developed what appealed to us. Insofar as my jewelry design style, I believe that I am the " Go Big or Go Home " girl. My designs so far are just more art related than " practical."
Who am I? Am I a Hobbyist? (There is nothing wrong with that by the way!) Don't ever let anyone call you " JUST " a Hobbyist. Doing something that brings YOU peace and joy ( as well as your customers ) is very healthy! Making your money back from supplies and engaging with customers at shows is also very rewarding. I appreciate the hobbyist because they create from the heart. There is always good energy in their design work because it is coming from a loving place. What about a Jewelry Maker? Am I a Jewelry Maker? Well, how much do you love the business side of things as well as creating? How do you make sure that you are making your money back and then some? I think that all of us in some way as we are creating, think about the profit end of it. After all, no one wants to knowingly throw money out of the window! Makers also are also organizationally oriented about keeping supplies on hand for any show or event that may pop up unexpectedly. The internet is your friend with many opportunities to sell in online stores and maybe a few brick and mortar as well. Am I a Production Designer? A Production Designer is one who comes up with design ideas and has a complete and cohesive line of product. They are the ones that desire to live solely on what they design. Their target is Online, Trade Shows, and will seek out reps to sell to Department Stores and maybe chain Boutiques. Unless they are super human they often have many staff to help them bring their line to the public.
Ok! so back to the original question ....Who am I ? For this point in my life I am a Hobbyist. As I partake in this class I have learned a lot about my style, my path and where I want to be down the road. I have learned to embrace a more practical approach to design. I am focusing on more simple, yet still " art-worthy " designs as I do aspire to be a Maker. As for Production Designer??? not sure that I want to go that far. I do desire to create a line of components for my customers to bring their art and soul to life. Being that I have done production work in the past, it is tedious work, but fun too. The company that I worked for wanted factory perfect pieces from human beings that are far from perfection! I know that the only way that I can do any production work is with the understanding of my customers that it is art. It will not be a factory stamped out piece of perfection made with cheap cheesy materials using slave labor ( as many Asian countries still do.)...of that I am certain!
So here are a few pics of some things that you will see in the final product and some of my favorite tools to make them. The line that I have been creating over the past 2 months has taken shape and made a few twists and turns as well.The tools that I love are beautiful brass pieces from B'sueboutiques http://www.bsueboutiques.com/. The Jooltool from http://jooltool.com/, the wire wrapping tools from Dale Cougar Armstrong http://www.cougarscreations.com/
Please make some time to enjoy the rest of the members of the 2016 BALC. The links to everyone are below. Just click the name of the member and be sure to show them some love by commenting on their blogs as well.
