When I've told people that I have started a jewelry business lately I often get comments about the dire situation supposedly being experienced by retailers across the world. Apparently no one is buying anything anymore. But I'm suspicious. Could it be perhaps that rather than heading out to the local mall where everything is produced en masse in overseas factories and there is little to no imagination or personality about products - especially products like jewelry - people are instead looking for something more unique, and the internet is giving them the opportunity to find it. What's more, the internet is giving people with a unique style of crafting an amazing new way of finding taste specific customers in a global marketplace. It's quite incredible. I make many more sales through my facebook page than I do at the local markets I sometimes sell at - why? I think its because I can reach people who are interested in my product more directly, and through their own interest. There is a lot less chance involved. And it's so great because I don't have to pander to the people who happen upon my product, but I can make exactly what I want to, and then use my existing networks to find the people out there who are looking for someone like me.
Recently I was having a designer's identity crisis, but now I feel much more confident in my product. I've found my niche - at least for now - and it has paid off. I am being true to myself and as my networks on social media reflect a certain kind of personality, this has allowed me to reach the audience I was hoping for. It really couldn't be better - for both me as a new retailer and aspiring designer, as well as the customer seeking out something unique in an otherwise very same same world of consumerism.
What is it that I am offering? Something magickal and spiritual. Crystals and the essence of the forest, nature energies captured in art. Natural designs that evoke a sense of wonder and celebrate the beauty of the world around us. I'm an animist and a nature spiritualist - and I love that I can bring this into my artwork. I am currently working on bringing in a more specifically magickal aspect to the pieces also.... amulets with magickal, and very beautiful sigils on them. Wait and see - you're going to love this :-)
Wednesday 10 August 2011
Monday 25 July 2011
Fickle Inspiration
Inspiration is a funny thing. It's elusive, but when you find it there is sometimes too much to know what to do with. I seem to go through peaks and troughs with it. Some days I find it difficult to drag myself away from my work, even taking it to the dreamworlds with me and coming up with great ideas as I sleep. But other times I have no enthusiasm at all. And on those days, if I try to work on something it comes out really disappointing.
This was one of the reasons I found it difficult to work as a fashion designer full time. Creativity isn't something you can rely on to be there when you need it. It can't be scheduled into a roster or put to work the 9-5. It's fickle and moody, it comes in droughts and floods like Australian weather patterns. It's elusive and mystical.
I'm fairly into nature spirituality and love some of the ideas of neo-Pagan revivals like Druidry. They talk about the idea of "awen" which is the Welsh word for flowing inspiration which helps artists, poets, magicians and great warriors alike to succeed in their ventures. Connecting with awen is like connecting with deity or some divine spark. Creativity is what makes up the magic and life of things. Indeed, the word "inspire" in English even means to have the Spirit within you - to be possessed in a sense. At least that makes it a bit more understandable why it's so hard sometimes! ha ha
Anyway, another reason I like these ideas is because the ideological basis of many of them comes from an appreciation of the magic of nature - nothing less than the Forest Spirit itself. I have been taking some photos recently to try and budge a creativity block I have been having the last couple of days.
The incredible simplicity and beauty of nature is so amazing. It doesn't have to THINK about how to be beautiful - it just is because it is filled with life. That's the kind of beauty I am hoping to encapsulate with my work. Hopefully I will be able to find my inspiration again soon
This was one of the reasons I found it difficult to work as a fashion designer full time. Creativity isn't something you can rely on to be there when you need it. It can't be scheduled into a roster or put to work the 9-5. It's fickle and moody, it comes in droughts and floods like Australian weather patterns. It's elusive and mystical.
I'm fairly into nature spirituality and love some of the ideas of neo-Pagan revivals like Druidry. They talk about the idea of "awen" which is the Welsh word for flowing inspiration which helps artists, poets, magicians and great warriors alike to succeed in their ventures. Connecting with awen is like connecting with deity or some divine spark. Creativity is what makes up the magic and life of things. Indeed, the word "inspire" in English even means to have the Spirit within you - to be possessed in a sense. At least that makes it a bit more understandable why it's so hard sometimes! ha ha
Anyway, another reason I like these ideas is because the ideological basis of many of them comes from an appreciation of the magic of nature - nothing less than the Forest Spirit itself. I have been taking some photos recently to try and budge a creativity block I have been having the last couple of days.
The incredible simplicity and beauty of nature is so amazing. It doesn't have to THINK about how to be beautiful - it just is because it is filled with life. That's the kind of beauty I am hoping to encapsulate with my work. Hopefully I will be able to find my inspiration again soon
Monday 18 July 2011
Cavandoli Knotwork
As I have said, I was really inspired by macrame when I went to Argentina a couple of years ago. I went with a half-Brazillian friend of mine, Tanya, and we were both really inspired by the work we saw in Patagonia. She now lives in Rio De Janeiro and makes lovely work with macrame and crystals.
Recently she was visiting in Sydney and gave me a wonderful gift - she sold me a load of her macrame thread, which I was having so much trouble finding here in Australia, and she also lent me a DVD by Joan Babcock on Macrame and Cavandoli Knotwork. It was awesome. I learned a great deal that I have been able to add into my own work. I got to experimenting, and yesterday I finished a piece I have been working on for days! It took a really long time to make, so I'm not sure if I will be willing to part with it. But it taught me a lot about what can be achieved if you put your mind to it.
Getting inspired for design is a funny thing. Sometimes you have a good idea of what it is you want to acheive, and you just go and make it. But that's not usually the time when things work out the best. More often, it's the times when you don't know what is going to happen, but you have an image of the FEELING of the piece, that is more strong - that is when you do something good, something inspired.
I'm enjoying the process of finding out how to be inspired again. After working for a few years in fashion design, about eight years ago, I became really jaded. I was working for a swimwear company full time and by the end of my time there I felt like I had no creativity left in my soul. It took a long time for me to find it again, and to approach it with a more healthy attitude. When I was a designer full time there was an imense pressure to perform, to be creative every minute of every day. It just doesn't work like that. It's a more spiritual and organic process. You can't schedule it in - you have to make your world inviting enough that it might visit you. Art doesn't have an appointment book! It's a free spirit! I feel like I'm doing a better job of things this time around. Though there are pot holes I need to try and avoid if I can:
1) Don't do it for money over love. You have to love what you design. Don't design for dollars.
2) Be inspired, but don't copy. All too many designers fall into the trap of copying when they have a design block.
3) Don't be afraid to mess it up. Sometimes your best work will come out of a risk you take.
4) Try different things, but don't slip away from who you are and what you want out of your label. Be true to yourself.
5) Keep going. The best designs often come when you persist with something. It might not be working just right now, but if you keep at it, you will create something amazing.
6) Don't overthink it. Feel it instead. Don't have "too many mind" like in the last Samurai ;-) Find your chi, your flow.
Hopefully I can keep this advise to myself in mind :-)
Me and Tanya
Recently she was visiting in Sydney and gave me a wonderful gift - she sold me a load of her macrame thread, which I was having so much trouble finding here in Australia, and she also lent me a DVD by Joan Babcock on Macrame and Cavandoli Knotwork. It was awesome. I learned a great deal that I have been able to add into my own work. I got to experimenting, and yesterday I finished a piece I have been working on for days! It took a really long time to make, so I'm not sure if I will be willing to part with it. But it taught me a lot about what can be achieved if you put your mind to it.
Cavandoli Knotwork necklace - not for sale
Getting inspired for design is a funny thing. Sometimes you have a good idea of what it is you want to acheive, and you just go and make it. But that's not usually the time when things work out the best. More often, it's the times when you don't know what is going to happen, but you have an image of the FEELING of the piece, that is more strong - that is when you do something good, something inspired.
I'm enjoying the process of finding out how to be inspired again. After working for a few years in fashion design, about eight years ago, I became really jaded. I was working for a swimwear company full time and by the end of my time there I felt like I had no creativity left in my soul. It took a long time for me to find it again, and to approach it with a more healthy attitude. When I was a designer full time there was an imense pressure to perform, to be creative every minute of every day. It just doesn't work like that. It's a more spiritual and organic process. You can't schedule it in - you have to make your world inviting enough that it might visit you. Art doesn't have an appointment book! It's a free spirit! I feel like I'm doing a better job of things this time around. Though there are pot holes I need to try and avoid if I can:
1) Don't do it for money over love. You have to love what you design. Don't design for dollars.
2) Be inspired, but don't copy. All too many designers fall into the trap of copying when they have a design block.
3) Don't be afraid to mess it up. Sometimes your best work will come out of a risk you take.
4) Try different things, but don't slip away from who you are and what you want out of your label. Be true to yourself.
5) Keep going. The best designs often come when you persist with something. It might not be working just right now, but if you keep at it, you will create something amazing.
6) Don't overthink it. Feel it instead. Don't have "too many mind" like in the last Samurai ;-) Find your chi, your flow.
Hopefully I can keep this advise to myself in mind :-)
Saturday 16 July 2011
Fimo Forest
Well, after my little ramble this morning I was feeling a bit more inspired to get what I want out of my materials and I came up with a cute little range of pendants using stones with leaf and crystal inserts. They are really cool and go really well with macrame. I have been thinking about doing other accessories to go with them too. This could be a turning point in my designs. It feels much more... together. Here are some of the pendants:
They actually remind me a lot of the work that I saw when I was in South America. I was really inspired by the markets in the Patagonia region of Argentina when I went there a couple of years ago. They used a lot of clays (though mostly epoxy resins - which aren't very good for you to work with), along with wood carving, metal work and loads of macrame. I really love macrame and am so happy that I can bring it back into my designs.
Today was a good day :-)
They actually remind me a lot of the work that I saw when I was in South America. I was really inspired by the markets in the Patagonia region of Argentina when I went there a couple of years ago. They used a lot of clays (though mostly epoxy resins - which aren't very good for you to work with), along with wood carving, metal work and loads of macrame. I really love macrame and am so happy that I can bring it back into my designs.
Today was a good day :-)
Friday 15 July 2011
Finding a style
To begin this blog I thought I would share with you the story of my label so far. There have been good ideas and bad. Successes and failures. Some things worked well and others fell flat. Throughout the process so far I have been experimenting - working out what I like to use, what I like to express myself through. Though now, after a few months of creating designs and having set up a couple of markets I am looking to consolidate my style somehow. This is how I am getting there.
A few months ago, embarking on my first ever bead shopping expedition, I felt like I had a good idea of what kind of style I wanted my new jewelry label to have. I chose wooden beads, turquoise, hematite, lace obsidian, gold and silver beads as well as some thread to do macrame and felt it had a tribal type theme. I looked in my basket and had a good feeling about where my style was headed - I could see the necklaces forming in my mind and what kind of people would wear them. It had a tribal princess or Amazonian type feel to it. Colours of the forest.
On returning home I was pulled up however when I realised that the thread I had bought was too thick and made from cotton - I couldn't get it through the beads and it frayed! I tried attaching the beads to the thread using copper wire but it looked atrocious! So I went back to the shop and tried to find the right kind of thread. I thought needed waxed polyester thread, and knew I liked working with it as my Brazillian friend Tanya had given me a small roll to have a go with. Unfortunately no one at the shop - or other shops I tried - knew what I was talking about. So I had to try something new. I bought some unwaxed polyester thread and some fire wire, learning in the shop how to use clamps to attach fasteners. I took them home and had another go. The polyester thread was awful. It came undone and twisted on the finished piece. I made one item with it and gave up. I considered waxing it myself, but never got round to it. In retrospect, I doubt it would have worked anyway. The fire wire proved more successful. It fit through all the beads for one thing, so I could get right into making some nice pieces, and I liked how professional it looked to have proper clasps. I made the range Woodlands at this point and I still think they are a great part of my label. They embody the original ideas I had for my style, however they have taken on a completely new form. They are like a refined version of the tribal feel. A bit more mature and glamourous, while at the same time holding fast to the natural feel.
I also started making some of my crystal jewelry at this point, particularly the pieces I made from hematite and lace obsidian with silver, and turquoise. They came out nicely and were some of the first pieces I actually sold. I have now decided to expand on this area of the label as the medium is so good for it, and the particular supplier I have appropriate. I love the feeling of working with crystals, their energies and meanings and how this brings us in connection with nature.
It was also fun to bring more colour into the label. As I was unable at this stage to work with macrame, I went back to the bead shop and expanded on my bead options, bringing in reds, pinks and blues, as well as coloured seed beads. This led to some interesting pieces, and unique designs, and I love a lot of them, however at this stage I was starting to feel like they were not a succinct enough group to make a solid range.
As I wanted to get back to macrame, as well as being inspired by some of the work of the other artists in the Maya Earth Collective - a group I would be starting a market stall with - I decided to learn about polymer clays like Fimo. This was really fun and I experimented with a few new styles. It took me well away from my original vision however. The creative juices were flowing and could not be held back. I made colourful beads, some with inspiration from the film Avatar with glow in the dark blue and white, attempting to get that tribal feel back. I scoured YouTube for how-to videos on making fimo and worked out fairly successfully how to make flowers, which made a nice pink and black range of beads that I used in the range Midnight. I coupled them with lavastone and black seed beads and although I had throught of them as a bit surfie, they seemed to get the attention of mature women at the markets.
Things changed a bit with the Fimo when my friend Tanya from Brazil came to Australia to visit. She sold me a huge pile of waxed polyester threads and so suddenly I had new options for where I could take things. I learnt some new macrame techniques and made a few things with that, and I also made some very surfie style franjipani pendants and beads and put them together with macrame to make a bit of a surfie range, as well as creating some more intricate scene pendants too. These last pieces took me back to the days when I used to be a swimwear designer! Palm trees, tropical coasts and flowers. All very surfie...
And then I hit a wall....
Where was I going with all this? I had diverged on a creative backstreet to find myself lost in the sprawling suburbs of crafting abilities. There were too many colours, too many styles, how did it all go together? I haven't even published photos of the last surfie range as I felt that they were too divergent from my original ideas. Where did "Forest Spirit" come into surf jewelry? Where was my tribal princess? What I had wanted originally was for people to have the feeling that they had wandered through the jungle to come out covered in sticks and leaves and flowers and for it to look like jewelry. I wanted raw. Beads and macrame with an exotic and arty feel to them. Where were these pieces? They weren't there. I had sidestepped my vision out of looking for ways to acheive it. Granted, the pieces I had created were well made, with good style in themselves. But there was a lack of cohesion in the label.
I'm still trying to find my way back there. This blog, I hope will help me to document my progress. I plan to show new ideas, new things I am learning, new pieces I have made - not with any intention to make it look perfect necessarily, but to show you how things come together. How labels are created. The successes and the failures. The passion and the let down. Hopefully it will work to keep me motivated too :-)
If you are interested in purchasing any of my work or seeing the full range available, you can either check out my facebook page, listed under "Forest Spirit Jewelry by Julie Mills" or you can find me at the markets in Sydney, Australia. Please email forestspiritjewelry@gmail.com to find out where our next market will be held, or to make inquiries about purchases. Thanks x
A few months ago, embarking on my first ever bead shopping expedition, I felt like I had a good idea of what kind of style I wanted my new jewelry label to have. I chose wooden beads, turquoise, hematite, lace obsidian, gold and silver beads as well as some thread to do macrame and felt it had a tribal type theme. I looked in my basket and had a good feeling about where my style was headed - I could see the necklaces forming in my mind and what kind of people would wear them. It had a tribal princess or Amazonian type feel to it. Colours of the forest.
On returning home I was pulled up however when I realised that the thread I had bought was too thick and made from cotton - I couldn't get it through the beads and it frayed! I tried attaching the beads to the thread using copper wire but it looked atrocious! So I went back to the shop and tried to find the right kind of thread. I thought needed waxed polyester thread, and knew I liked working with it as my Brazillian friend Tanya had given me a small roll to have a go with. Unfortunately no one at the shop - or other shops I tried - knew what I was talking about. So I had to try something new. I bought some unwaxed polyester thread and some fire wire, learning in the shop how to use clamps to attach fasteners. I took them home and had another go. The polyester thread was awful. It came undone and twisted on the finished piece. I made one item with it and gave up. I considered waxing it myself, but never got round to it. In retrospect, I doubt it would have worked anyway. The fire wire proved more successful. It fit through all the beads for one thing, so I could get right into making some nice pieces, and I liked how professional it looked to have proper clasps. I made the range Woodlands at this point and I still think they are a great part of my label. They embody the original ideas I had for my style, however they have taken on a completely new form. They are like a refined version of the tribal feel. A bit more mature and glamourous, while at the same time holding fast to the natural feel.
Woodlands Range leaf pendant necklace $29
I also started making some of my crystal jewelry at this point, particularly the pieces I made from hematite and lace obsidian with silver, and turquoise. They came out nicely and were some of the first pieces I actually sold. I have now decided to expand on this area of the label as the medium is so good for it, and the particular supplier I have appropriate. I love the feeling of working with crystals, their energies and meanings and how this brings us in connection with nature.
Hematite and lace obsidian necklace $32, bracelet $20, earrings $11
It was also fun to bring more colour into the label. As I was unable at this stage to work with macrame, I went back to the bead shop and expanded on my bead options, bringing in reds, pinks and blues, as well as coloured seed beads. This led to some interesting pieces, and unique designs, and I love a lot of them, however at this stage I was starting to feel like they were not a succinct enough group to make a solid range.
As I wanted to get back to macrame, as well as being inspired by some of the work of the other artists in the Maya Earth Collective - a group I would be starting a market stall with - I decided to learn about polymer clays like Fimo. This was really fun and I experimented with a few new styles. It took me well away from my original vision however. The creative juices were flowing and could not be held back. I made colourful beads, some with inspiration from the film Avatar with glow in the dark blue and white, attempting to get that tribal feel back. I scoured YouTube for how-to videos on making fimo and worked out fairly successfully how to make flowers, which made a nice pink and black range of beads that I used in the range Midnight. I coupled them with lavastone and black seed beads and although I had throught of them as a bit surfie, they seemed to get the attention of mature women at the markets.
Midnight polymer clay and lavastone necklace $32
Things changed a bit with the Fimo when my friend Tanya from Brazil came to Australia to visit. She sold me a huge pile of waxed polyester threads and so suddenly I had new options for where I could take things. I learnt some new macrame techniques and made a few things with that, and I also made some very surfie style franjipani pendants and beads and put them together with macrame to make a bit of a surfie range, as well as creating some more intricate scene pendants too. These last pieces took me back to the days when I used to be a swimwear designer! Palm trees, tropical coasts and flowers. All very surfie...
And then I hit a wall....
Where was I going with all this? I had diverged on a creative backstreet to find myself lost in the sprawling suburbs of crafting abilities. There were too many colours, too many styles, how did it all go together? I haven't even published photos of the last surfie range as I felt that they were too divergent from my original ideas. Where did "Forest Spirit" come into surf jewelry? Where was my tribal princess? What I had wanted originally was for people to have the feeling that they had wandered through the jungle to come out covered in sticks and leaves and flowers and for it to look like jewelry. I wanted raw. Beads and macrame with an exotic and arty feel to them. Where were these pieces? They weren't there. I had sidestepped my vision out of looking for ways to acheive it. Granted, the pieces I had created were well made, with good style in themselves. But there was a lack of cohesion in the label.
I'm still trying to find my way back there. This blog, I hope will help me to document my progress. I plan to show new ideas, new things I am learning, new pieces I have made - not with any intention to make it look perfect necessarily, but to show you how things come together. How labels are created. The successes and the failures. The passion and the let down. Hopefully it will work to keep me motivated too :-)
If you are interested in purchasing any of my work or seeing the full range available, you can either check out my facebook page, listed under "Forest Spirit Jewelry by Julie Mills" or you can find me at the markets in Sydney, Australia. Please email forestspiritjewelry@gmail.com to find out where our next market will be held, or to make inquiries about purchases. Thanks x
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)