Wire Wrapping Tutorials and Helpful Hints

Seedlings: Jewelry Because was established by Sharon in March 2009, creating jewelry, with Sharon branching out into accessories (such as hairpins). Sharon told me “I’m also planning on opening a shop just for forged and crafted findings since I’ve found I really enjoy that aspect of jewelry making.”

Sharon started creating jewelry out of necessity: “I had trouble finding jewelry I liked for reasonable prices so decided to pick up some tools and beads and see what I could make. The first things I tried were with seed beads and that didn’t really click. I have a ton of respect for folks that work with tiny beads but it is not for me…

I really enjoyed making earrings at first because I could whip out a pair for every outfit if I wanted. People kept asking me where I was buying my jewelry and I loved telling them that I had made it.”

Currently Sharon works with all types of wire including copper, sterling silver filled, and Argentium sterling silver. For beads she prefers natural and smooth such as recycled glass from Ghana but she’s starting to really get into larger semi-precious stones such as agate and learning to like small facets.

Sharon also told me “I love pearls as long as they are all knobby, funky and strange! Something truly beautiful to me about them so I use them as much as I can. I’m also a fan of shells, coral and mother of pearl.

I like to use fair trade or ethically sourced materials when possible and try to give first priority to recycled elements as well. I’ve found a great source for Ghanaian krobo beads through Soul of Somanya.

I save all my silver scraps to recycle either through making charms for another project or if they are very small, to be resmelted (through Rio Grande at the moment). As a person who is creating to learn and to share, sometimes I have to use what I have on hand or what is most cost effective but a goal is a goal!”Sharon is “a Georgia transplant, moved out here from Kansas in 2003. I’ve been involved in some form of website development or Internet industry since the mid-1990s and I somehow ended up doing that once I was here. Odd since I graduated with a degree in music composition…but I needed to pay the bills!

The desire to keep the bills paid has kept me in the website field where I’m currently a designer for a group within AT&T that builds sites for advertisers on Yellowpages.com.

What really keeps me busy when I’m not creating though is entertaining my hubby and dog Foo (a rescue dog that’s a bit on the nutty side)!”

I asked Sharon if she has any other hidden crafting talents. She told me “I’m always learning new techniques and trying to work with new materials. I’m currently taking a metalsmithing class at the Callanwolde Center in Atlanta with Cat Goolsby. After using the torch to solder at the first class, I knew I would love that but the jury is still out on some of the other techniques.

I want to learn lampworking too because I love the thought of creating a piece that is entirely 100% created from scratch so to speak. Right now I’m at the whim of stumbling upon a beautiful bead and figuring out how I want to make it work. I want to take control of that process.”

I always am interested to learn what or who inspires an artist. Sharon said “My main inspiration tends to come from thinking about something and then peeling it back like an onion, figuring out what makes it exist at a base level, deciding on a tangent and then seeing if I can translate that into a piece of jewelry. One of the concepts that continues to fascinate me is how simple plus simple equals complex. Everything we look at in nature can be boiled down to smaller elements that added up are breathtaking. I enjoy paying homage to that simplicity, or at least trying!”

Goals for Sharon’s business? My 2010 goal is to drop the day job entirely and focus on Seedlings. I’m starting to do a lot of custom work and a lot of projects for weddings which I’ve found a lot of satisfaction with. Something so wonderful about working with a person who is completely focused on making one day special for so many people. I never thought I would find wedding work appealing!

I can’t really say that I have a concrete goal creatively because I have so many things I want to try and do and learn and I feel like I’m in a giant candy store filled with wirey, beady goodies! I just want to keep creating and see where it takes me.” I think many of us can relate to this feeling! I know it took me a while to discover what aspect of jewelry making I really love and am good at.

Sharon’s beautiful work can be found at multiple sites on the web:

Seedlings: Jewelry Because

Seedlings: Jewelry Because Etsy

Seedlings: Jewelry Because Facebook

Seedlings: Jewelry Because Blog

Seedlings: Jewelry Because Twitter

Seedlings: Jewelry Because Flickr

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 21st, 2009 at 3:08 pm and is filed under Featured Artisan Monday . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.