Friday Finds... GuinevereLynnThis is my fifth interview of the amazing not-so-well-known artists of Etsy.
I absolutely love the ideas behind this weeks sellers work. She makes the brightest of chainmail jewelry which for something you'd expect to see behind a suit of armor, the fact that she's turned something so plain into things you'd proudly adorn onto colorful attire, you can see why I felt that need to ask for an interview! I love innovative ideas, escpecially one's that are full of color! So this week I want to introduce GuinevereLynn!
(Just click the images to go direct to the listings)
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Tell me a bit about you! (Name, Age, Location, and give us a random fact whilst you're at it.) My name is Jen. I am nineteen years old, and I live in North Billerica, MA. I have a rather ridiculous obsession with music, leading to a collection of over 50GB. (For the technologically challenged, this means it would take almost 36 days to listen to my entire music library.)
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What is your business about then? Chainmaille! In this day and age, most people don't think about chainmaille, except to possibly admire the armor from the Lord of the Rings movies. Chainmaille is very cool, and not just for armor anymore! In short, I want to bring chainmaille jewelry and accessories to the masses.
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How did Etsy come into your life? I first heard about Etsy from my mother. (www.alysamerle.etsy.com) She tried to convince me for a long time to open up a store, but I didn't feel like anything I made was good enough to sell. This was before I discovered my love of chainmaille. Even when I did, though, it took a while for me to be brave enough to open a shop.
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Are you working a day job too? At the moment, I just have a few babysitting jobs lined up. In addition to that, I'm still mostly a student.
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How long has the artist in you been 'unleashed' for? One of my earliest memories is of me coloring in a coloring book. I was probably about four or five. I've probably been creating 'art' since before I could read the word. I've taken countless art classes in various mediums, including drawing, sculpting, fashion design, and of course, jewelry making.
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What has been the inspiration behind your business? A friend of mine was teaching a chainmaille class, and I decided to sign up. I loved it. I soon spent all of my money on buying more supplies, and got to work making holiday presents. I had a lot of bracelets left over, and the rest of the class and I entered into an art show/auction at a convention. Between the 6 of us, I believe we sold 5 things. Luckily, we tried again at a different convention... success! I sold almost everything I had, and the others didn't do bad, either. I realized that I might just be skilled enough to make some real money selling my work.
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If you could describe your products in three words, what would you tell me? Playful, elegant, and spunky.
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What would an average working day for you be like from dawn til dusk? I wake up, usually in the late morning, and do my post-wake-up things, such as having breakfast and getting dressed. From there, it depends on the day. Some days I have classes or get together with friends. The summer's been pretty slow for me. Sometimes I spend an hour or two taking pictures of what I make. Other days, I can spend hours and hours just making chainmaille as I watch TV or movies, or listen to music. I always spend a bit of time checking my daily online activities, emails, new views on Etsy, blog posts, etc. Before bed, I watch a bit of anime (whatever silly, lighthearted thing I'm currently into) and read.
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What's your favourite material and techniques to work with? My favorite material is definitely anodized aluminum. I love to work with colors, and aluminum is light and easy to bend, meaning it works up quicker, and I can get more done before my hands start protesting. My absolute favorite weave pattern to do is called Elfweave. It's beautiful and intricate when finished, and the weaving of it has a kind of rhythm, it seems to flow.
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What is your ideal vision for the future for you and your work? In my dreams of a perfect future, I have a fabulous metalworking/art studio, where I not only do chainmaille and paintings of people (my favorite subject in art), but other wire-working and mixed media. I sell anything I create, for supply money and to make a living. Oh, did I mention I'm a famous actress on the side?
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Away from work, what do you like to do for fun or to wind down? Actually, my work often is what I do to wind down. It's mindless and soothing. If not that, I play silly games on the internet and read. For fun, nothing beats hanging out with my fabulous friends.
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What are you likely to search for on Etsy? Anything and everything inspired by the Victorian era, especially corsets. (Real, steel-boned corsets, of course.) I'm also always on the look-out for unique and beautiful beads and supplies I can work into my designs.
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Any last words? Thanks so much for the interview! It's been fun. Here's the best advice I can give to any other artists out there: Art is subjective. You can't please everyone, but you will please someone no matter what. The most important opinion is yours, so do what's in your heart, create what you think is beautiful, what is meaningful to you, and enjoy it! Otherwise, it's pointless.
