Saturday, September 20, 2014

Creator's Corner - Kym Hunter

Today is the debut of Creator's Corner and we have a special guest; Kym from Kym Hunter Designs.  Kym has been featured in articles such as Stampington & Co. Jewelry Affairs Magazine and she is a regular participant in jewelry blog hops.  Kym was kind enough to answer some our questions and share her amazing jewelry creations with us.  You are going to fall in love with her unique jewelry creations.  Let's see what this talented creator has to say.
Tell us about the art you create and why you enjoy working with this particular medium.
I discovered jewelry making about 10 years ago at a woman’s retreat.  I was very excited to be able to make jewelry to suite my style and also found it to be a wonderful way to fulfill the need of my creative soul.  My favorite designs include natural beads and stones, sterling silver, copper, brass and handmade artisan beads.  My jewelry designs are one of a kind and eclectic.  I love texture and am drawn to stones and pearls that are irregular, rough and have an interesting look and shape. 


Share something that you do to stay motivated and creating art.


Sometimes it seems like design ideas flow easily and at times my muse takes frequent naps.  I try to at least make a pair of earrings every day.  I am inspired by the beauty of nature and life.  Sometimes taking a walk will help renew my creativity.

What are some of the things you do to continue learning and polishing your skills as a craftsman/artist?
I enjoy learning new techniques and try to take a couple of classes or workshops a year.  I subscribe to a couple of different magazines and purchase jewelry making books.


How much time do you dedicate to your business on a weekly basis?
Right now I have a 9 to 5 job and am only able to dedicate about 15 hours a week.  I plan on retiring in 3 years and I am working toward building my jewelry business for the next stage in my life.  

Where do you look for inspiration?  What about this inspires you the most?
    1. Favorite place – My backyard.  It is my oasis, especially early in the morning. 
    2. Favorite person – This is hard, as I admire so many people.  My mother-in-law always encouraged my creativity.  This was very precious to me, as my parents did not appreciate creativity and thought it was frivolous.
    3. Favorite thing; book, website, quote – “Don’t think.  Thinking is the enemy of creativity.  It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy.  You can’t try to do things.  You simply must do things.” – Ray Bradbury

I asked Kym to share one of her favorite tools. and this particular tool does.  This is what she said....
I never thought about it before, but I would have to say my hammers. I have several different types of hammers and mallets.  I especially love pounding on metal.  It’s very therapeutic.  I love the way the hammer transforms a smooth sheet of metal, adding texture and character.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
When I’m not sketching a design or making jewelry, I enjoy spending time with my family, being outdoors, cooking, reading, writing poetry and photography.  
It has been absolutely wonderful and inspiring to have Kym share her talent and some of her favorite designs with us here on Fairies Market.  To see more of Kym's work please visit her at the links below.  Kym told us that she's working on photographing pieces that are ready for her Etsy shop so stop by to see what she has listed.




Thanks you Kym for being a guest on Fairies Market!
Karen

Friday, September 19, 2014

Announcing Creator's Corner

Join “Creator’s Corner” on Fairies Market

On Saturday, September 20, 2014 we’re launching the “Creator’s Corner” sharing the life and creative work of talented artists across the globe.

This creative space is open to anyone and friends of Fairies Market, we’d love you to sign –up to be featured on a future post!

Sign up for email updates here to be sure you don’t miss a thing.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Fall Decorating Ideas

Now is the perfect time to add warm fall colors to your home creating a space that we want to come home to.  Relaxing colors soothe the soul and invite us to relax.  Making a subtle change is what I'm looking for so making pillow covers is how I added comfort to one bedroom.  

A quick trip to the sewing fabric store where I found some nice choices in fabric will add a fresh look to this room.  I made two sets of pillowcases to match one of my quilts.  This quick and easy change will add to the coziness of the handmade bedding in this particular space.  


  




In the kitchen new accessories (made by mom) will freshen things up a bit too.  This tortilla warmer will add festive colors to the kitchen decor.  This is a beautiful reminder of fall harvest and the gifts that mother nature provides us. 


 



We will add some of these items to our Etsy shop so please stop by.  Share your fall home decorating ideas with our readers.  We'd love to see what you have in mind.


Keep Creating,
Karen





Sunday, September 7, 2014

Jewelry Designing with Color


A great place to find inspiration is in color - which is all around you.  Jewelry making is an art and they say that ART is in the eye of the beholder.  The wonderful thing about color is that it's all around you.  Bring your awareness to your surroundings and you will see amazing things.  Colors you never noticed before all of a sudden jump out in the landscape.  

The trending colors for FALL fashion are rich shades of green, blue, and purples.  Earthtones always add to the beauty of autumn but they are versatile enough to be used all year long.  


Artists can find a wonderful array of jewelry findings in various colors of beads, pearls, crystals, wire, clay or stones to accent a spectacular piece of jewelry or to use those components to create a design around a particular color.  




Look around you to find bold colors that will enhance your handmade jewelry pieces.  This is a fun way to make your pieces a bit more interesting.  Working with beautiful beads or gemstones challenges the the craftsman to make something unique by mixing colors or adding variations of the same hue to create a dazzling and beautiful jewelry piece.    


There's always inspirational ideas in jewelry making books too so don't forget to pull your favorite one off the shelf.  Go out and create something beautiful by adding some vibrantly colored supplies to your next impressive design.  You'll be glad you did.  


Be sure you share a link to your post!!!




Karen

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Jewelry Wholesale Supplies

No matter what you may need jewelry wholesale supplies for - there are a variety of sources available for finding what you need. However, in most cases, you will find the least expensive supplies through online sources. This is due to the fact that you literally have the whole world of jewelry wholesale supply sources at the touch of a button.  



Whether you are looking for stones, crystals, beads, wire or other supplies and tools, you can find everything you are looking for online – at really great prices!  You can order the supplies directly, or request a catalog from hundreds of different suppliers. 


If at all possible avoid sites that ask for payment to receive the catalog or sites that require you to pay for membership.  You might be required to place a minimum order with some companies.  And others require verification of your tax identification number too.  (That's a topic for another day.)


Before entering into a contractual relationship with a company or buying bulk remember it's important to check the refund and exchange policies.  Another cautionary measure is to check the legitimacy of an online business with the BBB online. If there have been any complaints, the BBB will have a record of it, and that information is available to the public at no charge.

If shopping online makes you really uncomfortable, there are other ways to find jewelry wholesale supplies.  Search for wholesalers online and then call them directly to place your order.  You can find the contact information for most companies on their website where it says ‘contact us’ or ‘about us.’  You can also purchase your supplies through discount stores in your area. However, you should be aware that you will not be paying wholesale prices. You will be paying discounted retail prices. Wholesale prices are much cheaper – especially when you make purchases in bulk quantities. 

So if you plan to grow your business and you want to offer competitive prices you might consider buying in bulk at wholesale prices.  There a many great companies and artists out there who offer reasonable prices and great deals on jewelry making supplies.

Happy shopping
& Always
Keep Creating

Karen