Meet Etsy Jewelry Artist: BrightCircle

Jess is a multi-faceted artist of varying styles, with a great sense of humor, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to get to know this fellow "Firefly" fan better...

"In between helping raise my younger siblings (I’m the second of ten children) and helping catch their stray bunnies, I study the subtleties of human nature, body language, things that change about society and the things that don’t," she explains. "One of my favourite quotes is ‘Just because you’re good doesn’t mean you’ll be successful, and just because you’re successful doesn’t necessarily mean you’re good.’ It keeps me on my toes to be the best I can be, and keeps me from feeling inferior from others because it’s a slow business month." She also jokes, " I live on the edge--I steal icing from cake-eating zombies!" A large part of he inspiration comes from color. "There are few things more enjoyable than happening to see two enchanting hues next to each other and having inspiration strike, or going through my bead stash, looking for beads that bring out a subtle color hiding in a focal bead." Her craft began, oddly enough, while watching the ‘02 winter Olympic men’s skating programs. "For years before that, though, I would read bead catalogs, over and over, and it turns out you can learn a lot about the design and construction of jewelry simply from the catalogs. I also read every book about stones and jewelry that my library had, before ever starting to make things." Although her craft is a business, it's also her passion. "I do it because there are few things that get me as excited as when I’m designing," she admits. She tries to list at least once a day, hoping to snag a weekly sale. She has an Etsy mentor and recommends her fellow newbies do the same. "If you can, buy from the people who buy from you, or heart your shop," she recommends. "Make what you really, really like. Push to make it the very best and the most interesting it can be, but at the same time don’t put so much pressure on yourself to be innovative, to the point that you aren’t enjoying yourself." Please check out her shop: http://brightcircle.etsy.com/

-Wendy Baylis

Dharma Designs
http://dharmadesigns.etsy.com/