Spotlight on...

Pieces of Amber

Gloria's Jewelry Box is very excited about our weekly Artist Spotlight Series. This is the third interview of many to come. You have to check out the amazing work from this talented artist! Show her some love!

1. Tell me a little about yourself! What inspired you to open an ETSY shop and what is your business?
My name is Amber, I am a 30-something married mother of two boys, live in a small town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and work part time in an natural food store as a deli leader and cheesemonger. I just recently acquired the cheese part of the job, and it's been an awesome learning experience. In the small amount of spare time I have outside of work, being a wife and mother, and housework, I garden and make jewelry. I've made jewelry off and on for 18 years. I started out with hemp, then learned the art of peyote stitch. I didn't get into working with gemstones until 2005, and that's when I discovered my passion for making gemstone earrings, necklaces and bracelets. I really have enjoyed learning the names of all the natural and manmade stones and am always asking the vendors at gem shows to tell me the names of any stones I don't know yet. I also like to incorporate glass, crystals, wood, shells, pearls, and nut beads into my designs. I almost always use silver.

2. What ETSY team(s) are you a part of?
Etsy Tristate Area Team, MD Etsy Street Team, East Coast Artisans, Handmadeology, Art for the Environment, Etsy Delmarva, Jewelry, and New Etsy Sellers.

3. When did you begin your business?
In May 2006, I went for it. I had been selling at local flea markets and craftshows for a year to see how sales would be, and my family and friends had placed orders and bought from me, so I made my dream a reality.

4. What inspires you to create?
Everyday life inspires me to make jewelry. I see customers wearing different jewelry everyday at the store. When I shop for beads, I get inspired. I get random design ideas in my head at weird times of the day. I love the colors that I find in nature, and tend to choose greens, blues and browns mostly, but I also choose brightly colored pinks, purples, reds, and orange.

5. What do you envision your business in the next five years?
In the next 5 years, I plan on reaching out to more customers, and hopefully more success will entail from that. It would be nice to be able to make a full time business out of it, but I'm enjoying the work I do in the deli presently, so hopefully I will still be doing both. I have many dreams of success, but I'm taking it one day at a time.

6. What is the best business advice you have ever received?
Someone once told me to never sell myself short. I always try to heed that advice.

7. What are three of your favorite ETSY shops?
Picking just three is really hard, because I have so many. Check out my page to see what all my favorites are. I'm really smitten with:
www.etsy.com/people/elseetee
www.etsy.com/people/zulasurfing
www.etsy.com/people/MarcusBerknerJewelry
because they are doing what i want to learn someday, metalsmithing.

8. What is something that you tried crafting, that turned out to be a disaster?
Recently I tried making these beaded flower earrings through a glass flower. I had the idea in my head, but couldn't execute it. Oh well, it wasn't meant to be! That's just one example. Sometimes I'm just not feeling it, and I'll scrap an idea in the beginning stages.

9. What are three things that few people know about you?
One of my goals is to turn my yard into a beautiful thing. I want flowers, trees, plants, fountains, slate tile walkways, a pond, a bridge, a rock garden, a cactus garden, etc, etc, etc. Few people think I care about my yard that much. I am really anal about recycling. If it can be recycled, it better not go in the trash! I hate scheduled working out and exercising. I think its the most boring thing ever. I just pull weeds, dig, play with my dogs and kids, and lift things instead. :)

10. Check out this fabulous seller at:
If you live locally, you can find my pieces at Lizzy Dee, and Due East.

These are my sites:
www.etsy.com/shop/PiecesofAmber?ref=pr_shop
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pieces-of-Amber/132730043440159
http://twitter.com/PiecesofAmber

A page I share with other artists:
http://www.facebook.com/CreatingWithCompassion


Enjoy ;)