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Flower |
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Meet the Designer-Artist
Where do you live?
Bay Waveland, Mississippi
Describe your artistic style.
Very eclectic.
What inspires you as a designer-artist?
Nature and the study of jewelry vintage to modern.
What materials do you most enjoy working with?
Most of the time natural, all according to what I see in a piece or in the person that I am making the piece for.
What is the name of the piece you submitted with your success story?
Flower
What inspired this design?
A vintage design that I was asked to replicate so that it could be worn to a function-gala with my own twist on it.
How did it come together?
Just another step in the evolution of all my designs.
Share Your Background
When and how did you begin making jewelry/beading?
1990 made my own fetishes due to the lack of jewelry for men.
Who introduced you to beading?
Sarah Crowley who had been making and repairing vintage jewelry for 50-plus years.
Do you have an artistic background?
I have an extensive background in clay, pen and ink and acrylics along with many mixed medium pieces.
How did you discover Fire Mountain Gems and Beads®?
I was given a catalog and several different artists join with each other and placed orders to get the best price for the beads.
What other hobbies do you have?
All aspects of art.
Beading Success
What role does jewelry-making play in your life?
It started with me making jewelry for myself then friends started asking for pieces for themselves. It just grew from there to a full-time obsession. I was doing antique trade shows and testing the market all along the Gulf Coast then orders started coming in from all over the U.S.
If you used jewelry-making as a way to bring in income, how are you selling yourself and your jewelry?
Until now most of my work was sold through word of mouth and by Patrons who ordered for different functions and antique shows.
Do you participate in any charity fundraisers?
Yes, ASPCA and this year the Pink Ribbon fund for Breast Cancer.
Any advice for aspiring jewelry-artists?
Never take no for an answer and to think out of the box if you can see it or draw it you can make it.
View all of Thomas's designs in the Gallery of Designs. |
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