New jewelry pieces and a new treasury!

Hi there, Hillary wanted to share with you some of the htings she has been up to recently!  First, she made a "rosie the riveter" themed treasury in honor of labor day.

Next, Hillary made a few new pieces pictured below and has plans for more!  We will take pictures of these in our awesome plastic container photo studio very soon so we can list them on the etsy shop!
The first one is a wire wrapped black Zwarovski Crystal we recently obtained as a part of a large lot of very awesome and very sparkly crystals.  The next one is a bottle cap pendant created from a unique bottlecap obtained as a part of a large donation of bottlecaps from a friend (pictured at the bottom).  So not only do we have some new pieces to put up, we have tons of materials for more new and amazing creations to put in the shop soon!

Interview with Joanna of Earthware

Today we bring you an interview from Joanna of Earthware, a handmade jewelry business in Hoover, AL.  Hillary met Joanna several months ago at a craft fair in Helena and the two have kept up with each other since.

Your story is a little different from most of the other people I have interviewed. Tell everyone how you got started into making and selling jewelry.

Ok, so I got started making jewelry around November of 2010. A friend of mine has a small jewelry business and I invited her to do a jewelry show at my home for me and all my friends. I was super excited about it because I got free jewelry for hosting. I was so impressed with her collection that a few weeks later I asked if I could come to her house and pick through her bead studio to see if there were things that I could throw together. I was hooked as soon as I walked in the door. It was bead heaven. Wall to wall, beads, components, string, chain, etc. You name it, she had it. I picked out a few things and left. I couldn't get her studio out of my head, I had to go play in bead land. I called her and basically forced her to say yes that I could come help her make jewelry part time. She paid me a few bucks a set. I was obsessed with beading after my first day. We would sit there for hours, listening to music, create and chat. She was pretty impressed with how well I did for never having beaded before. I too was pretty impressed with myself. She mentioned that I should start my own business. My mind started spinning. After a few weeks, we had pumped out so much jewelry that she had to place new orders. There was too much down time for me. I decided at that moment that I would do what she had recommended and open my own jewelry business. A sweet friend let me borrow some money to get started and that was the beginning of Earthwear. 

Making the jewelry was easy, selling it, not so much. I got my first order of beads on April 28, 2010. It was the day after the horrific tornado that ripped through Tuscaloosa, Cullman and Birmingham. I was in the middle of trying to organize donations for a friend of my son's teacher who had a 2 week old baby and had lost their home. In between emails, I started searching the internet for local art shows and was amazed that there was a whole little world out there for artists. That made me very happy! I then realized that it was mostly too late to get into most of them due to the late time of the year and deadlines. Some of them were nice and let me in late, others basically told me tough luck and call back next year. So that is exactly what I am doing!!  

In the time that I have known you, your skill and style have improved rapidly. What do you you attribute this to?

My style of jewelry making started out very basic. All I did was bead. I am good with color and shapes, and just put pieces together that I thought would look good. I like a lot of different shapes, colors and textures in a piece, and multiple patterns. You know when you see Earthwear, it just has that look. I will never forget my first time working with copper wire. I was so afraid to fail at it that I avoided it for a long time. I just didn't think I could do it. A friend of mine that was selling my jewelry for me started wrapping pendants. I had already bought all the stuff to do it, but like I said, I was scared. She did such a good job that I became obsessed again. She came over and showed me how to get started and I need to thank her for that. So my style has grown and evolved in a short time due to my determination to prove to my self that I can do anything that I set my mind to. I adore pretty, handmade jewelry and strive with every piece to make it the best one I have ever made. 


Where do you get your inspiration for the art you create?

Inspiration for each piece comes from a single stone usually. I have always been good with color. I mean, putting together outfits, planting a garden, decorating my home...etc. When I see a stone that I cant quit thinking about, I know that is my inspiration piece and I build the piece around that stone. I do get "writers block" occasionally and get sick of the same ole stuff that I have been making and I'll jump on Pintrest or Etsy and grab and idea or two. If I do that, I always make sure that it is made differently than the original piece I saw. I would not want to copy anyone's work. 

What have you found is the most successful way to market yourself?

The most successful way I market Earthwear is by getting out there and showing people who you are and what you have to offer. The other most successful thing about Earthwear is my logo. I put my logo on all my earring cards, so when someone buys them, they have my logo as well. That is the first thing people recognize when they see me at a show. They point to my logo on my tent sign and say, "oh yeah, I've seen this jewelry somewhere". When you make quality products, they basically sell themselves, you just gotta get it out there in everyone's face. People are more willing to buy something if they are familiar with it. Smiling helps a lot too!

What details do you think artists should pay attention to when trying to market their art that they might sometimes miss?

I think an artist should stay true to who they are and the art that they create. Don't go out there and try to create something that isn't you and try to create something just because you think it will sell. Creativity is such a powerful and personal journey. When an artist sits down to create something, they are not thinking about how much money they are gonna make from it, they are thinking about what inspired them to do it in the first place. They are thinking about the miners who dug into the earth to find the vein of turquoise, or the logger to cut down the tree, or the welder who cut the sheet of metal, or what ever person worked to make sure you have your medium of choice. Or at least that is what I think about. I also think about the person who will wear that piece of jewelry and if I will ever see them out and about enjoying it. A big realization for me this past holiday season was the fact that women all over would be opening gifts and seeing my logo and that gorgeous piece of Earth that Mother Nature was so gracious to offer us. All artist need to remember that, yeah, the money is good, but none of us would be doing this if we didn't love it. So don't look at your art as a job, but be thankful that we are able to do what we love, what is in our hearts and that other people love it as much as we do and want to give us money for the things that we create. The old saying is true, Its a labor of love.

What is your favorite thing about creating and selling your art?

My favorite thing about creating my art is the satisfaction I get when a piece is completed. I will throw the necklace around my neck and think it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I love it even more when I see someone else get excited about the things that I make. It is a very good feeling knowing that someone loves something that you made and love more than you do!

Last but not least, where can we find you and your art?

You can find me in the heart of Hoover. I have grown up here and will raise my children here as well. Hoover is home and always will be. I don't have a shop, but you can find my art here on facebook and at most of the big art shows in Hoover and surrounding areas. I am hoping to get into the the 2012 Buck Creek Festival this year and have already been invited back to a number of festivals from last year. One being the Festival in the Pines at Tannehill State Park in Sept. I plan on doing the Moss Rock Festival here in Hoover as well as the Bluff Park art show in Hoover in November. I am booked for a event in Helena called You're So Artsy in March. Also I will be at the Mt. Laurel Spring Festival in April.

We would also like to note that Joanna has a facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/earthwearbyjoanna

New Piece for Pride Art 2010

Last year, Hillary displayed some existing and new work at pride art.
This year she made a new piece especially for it. Pride art will be at Joe's on 7th in brimingham, AL, this friday, June 4th. This is a wonderful way for the LGBTQIA community to express themselves, to show support for each other, and raise money for an organization commited to promoting pride and understanding within the LGBTQIA community and the community at large.

The concept for this years piece was based off of another piece Hillary made called "exactly". Exactly is made of beautiful, sparkly beads covered up by ribbon. It was meant to express Hillary's frustration with her own life and her uncanny reflex to hide even the most beautiful parts of herself for fear of rejection. This years piece, which has yet to be named, Is based on the idea that someone who is gay or questioning or transgendered, etc. is beautiful but has the same struggle by nature. They may be struggling with whether or not they are beautiful; they may know they are beautiful but not view sharing this part of their beauty with other people as an option for various reasons; they may have tried to share and been hurt because of it. Being the LGBTQI is complex: it can be a whirlwind of emotions, a complicated balance of truth and lies, and a tight rope walk over political, religious and moral ideas, among many other things. This piece is meant to visually express those things in a form that can worn close to the heart, just like Hillary wears "exactly" oh so frequently.

Our Piece For Arty Party

Last week, Hillary posted about this year's Arty Party, a really fun art auction that benefits Birmingham AIDS Outreach. This week She wanted to share with you her completed piece and some notes about the creation process:



When I created this, the driving force was the idea of extreme contrast and even visual discord. It's an odd concept for a necklace, and I had a hard time balancing it in my mind--even more so when I had a bead break after I had started construction. Even though I sometimes still question why I made this the way I did, I am pleased with the results and have gotten several positive reviews from people, as well as some ideas for improvement that I will probably turn into a similar piece in the near future.

It was a difficult piece to make from a design standpoint because most of what I make is simply made to be pleasing to the eye and intriguing because of it's beauty. This was made to sort of jump out at you and say something loudly-- maybe even something that you might not want to hear--but say it so eloquently that you can't deny it. But maybe in the back of my mind, that's exactly why I wanted to make this for Arty Party: HIV is one of those things that no one wants to hear about but everyone needs to know. It's also one of those areas where a person's reality is often in stark contrast to what they say and do: There are a lot of people out there who are living with this disease and the stigma and the health problems, who say nothing, and give face to being perfectly fine.

The name of the piece, I Don't Care came again from that idea of contrast and discord. There is a song by eatliz called I Don't Care that is strong and discordant. The lyrics for the song convey general nonchalance by saying things such as "I wanted to sing, but I don't care" and "I wanted to give but, I don't share", but the music and the fervor with which they are sung convey unequaled passion. The song speaks of someone who wants you to think she doesn't care and isn't interested, but in reality, is very emotionally invested. It is this kind of extreme contrast that I see in my piece. It is actually this type of extreme contrast that I see in myself many days.

So, I guess this year, without knowing it, I chose to donate something that is both personal and attempts to speak out for the people it is helping. As much as I debated whether or not I liked the piece because of it's sheer oddity and stark contrast, now that I realize why I created it and all the things it can mean, I have to be proud of it. I hope you enjoy it and will come to Arty Party to see it.

New creation from the hardware store?

A few months ago Hillary posted on how she gets inspiration. Apparently, she gets it from the hardware store as well. Hillary and her husband were around looking at appliances and counter tops dreaming of the day when all those lovely things would be a possibility when she noticed that the laminate counter top samples had little holes in the top... and beautiful colors. She took one home and wire wrapped it while watching ace of cakes, and then took a couple of quick pics with the webcam. She promises better pics in the next few days.

Pictures from Arty Party

We realize it has been a little while since we have updated, but Hillary won't sit still long enough to do a post!
She's been busy trying to create new pieces, list new things on the etsy shop, and attending Arty Party and the artist's party for arty party.
She says she had a lot of fun at both and wanted to share these pictures with you:



Champagne shooters courtesy B&A Warehouse


Hillary's new hat that she won in the silent auction.


Hillary's necklace and a lovely glass and copper dragonfly by Nina Spencer at Arty Party.


On a side note, Retro Handmade is gearing up for another challenge, which Hillary plans on entering. We will post more details about the challenge and Hillary's entry later on this week.