Stellar Sellar 10/5/07

The stellar sellar for this week is Lora, one of our awesome

Etsy Owls :) Lora designs jewelry, among other things. Her shop is http://lorastudio.etsy.com/

Here's the interview:

Tell us all about you, & as much or as little as you'd like to share with the world.

Hmm, what to tell, what to tell. Well, I'm 26 years old and live in Nashville, Tennessee. I recently made a career change (from teaching to being a nanny) and have found that along with the added peace and happiness I also have time to explore new passions. One of them is jewelry making and other crafting! I started playing around with jewelry making a couple of years back, but didn't really try anything much until Marchish of this year. A few of my online friends (including two of our OWLs--Wendy and Nick) encouraged me that I could actually *do* this, so I'll blame them for creating the monster Ok, so that's all about my crafting. Other than that--I have a bachelor's in music education with a minor in performance. Before I started nannying for the most adorable baby girl in the world I was a choral music teacher in a Nashville public school. I may eventually go back to teaching, but I needed a break. Truth be told, I probably will do something completely different after this job is over, such as PR or sales/merchandising.As for the rest of "me" I have a chosen family that surrounds me in Nashville and I love living here. I love kicking back on the sofa with a glass of wine, having dinner and a movie with a friend or 10, listening to live music, singing, shopping, living, laughing and loving. If I can be with someone I love anything is fun.

Tell us about your shop & how you got started:

I've already mentioned that a couple of my fellow OWL members encouraged me in this venture. With their encouragement as well as Christy, Whimsiesboutique on etsy, I opened up my little shop in...mid-July? I'd given several pieces of my jewelry away to friends as gifts and they all went on about how they thought I could sell my work, so I decided to give it a try. I've not been disappointed :0)

Right now my shop is mainly jewelry, although I did create some marble magnets for a challenge entry a couple of weeks ago--and have sold quite a few sets of them! I was actually kind of amazed at that! Eventually I hope to sell photography as well as some other crafts. I love to explore new ways to be creative. For a long time I thought the only creativeness in me had to do with music, and now that I have found other outlets I feel like they're all building on each other and helping me to improve in each one.

What inspires you to create?

oh, lots of things. Seeing a piece of jewelry that I like but think could be improved upon. I've created several pieces because I bought a piece of clothing that needed a perfect complement. Focal pieces that just beg for certain stones or beads to be coupled with. Nature--looking at gorgeous colors in a sunset and wondering how I could bring it to life in wearable art (I haven't perfected that yet, but it will come). People and their stories. I have several pieces that were created for a friend because of elements of their story, good and bad.

Describe yourself in one word: journeying

Favorite...Book: oh, this is so hard. Can I cop-out and say theBible? I love to read everything!

Movie: A Little Princess

Song: Unfair question for a musician. I think "Anyway" by Nichole Nordeman is very fitting for my life story though