Meet Etsy Jewelry Artist: pinkdragonfly98

Chicago native Renee Loughlin "worked in Finance in (her) previous life." She was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to be a stay at home mom for the last 6 years and has a "very arty daughter who rubbed off on me." She began beading purely as a hobby, but her love of the art has blossomed into a part time business. "I adore vintage and antique jewelry," she admits. "My grandmother gave me a box of her old jewelry and it really inspired me to explore working with it." She is even taking metalsmithing classes and hopes to incorporate her new skills into her jewelry designs. "I feel that I cannot learn enough fast enough." She advises her fellow Etsy artists, "if you want it to be a business then act like it is a business. Plan and work as though your life depends on it. Apply whatever skills you have from all of your previous experiences and research what you don't know." She also warns that - as helpful as they are - the forums can be addictive. "I allow myself 30 minutes a day to lurk in the fora (I don't post very often). The Etsy fora is a goldmine of information, but it is also a huge, swirling vortex that will swallow up your creative time before you know it!" Please check out her shop: http://pinkdragonfly98.etsy.com/

-Wendy Baylis

Dharma Designs

http://dharmadesigns.etsy.com/