SHOP PREVIEW....
Browsing through Nancy’s Etsy shop it was very hard for me to decide which pieces I would include for this interview post. Her shop is full of beautiful vintage designs that are all crafted with skill and include a wonderfully subtle but stunning color palette. Her choice of materials, (brass, silver, old watch faces, crystals and pearls, to name a few) are perfectly presented in each piece. Her passion for design that is more than apparent in her jewelry and her shop is a elegant addition to our Filigree team!
Dragonfly on Carnelian:
A vintage color brass dragonfly is wrapped around faceted carnelian that has a bronze colored pearl drop. The chain and brass connector are aged brass.
Victorian Glass Cabochon:
The centerpiece of this necklace is a black, white and gold pressed glass Victorian cabochon. It is vintage uncirculated stock. It is mounted in a brass filigree setting. Six faceted, glass Czech beads and brass filigree connectors add sparkle and glamour to the piece.
Vintage Watch Necklace:
This necklace is part of a series of "Deconstructed" necklaces. Rather than string everything, Nancy has wire wrapped all of the components to a hammered sterling silver base. Three old watch faces are offset by soft pink, green and rose colored pearls, Swarovski crystals, Czech glass beads and some watch parts. She used sterling silver wire to wrap them to the base. There are two sterling silver chains and one brass chain on each side.
Lapis Necklace:
The centerpiece is a beautiful lapis cabachon. It is mounted in a aged brass finding.
5/8/08
Nancy MacArthur: Featured Seller
Nancy MacArthur: Featured Shop Interview
SHOP INTERVIEW...
Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Nancy MacArthur and I live in Goodyear, Arizona. This means
I get to see the Goodyear blimp quite often. And yes, it gets very,
very hot.
Apart from designing things, what do you do?
Unfortunately, my full time job is not designing and selling
jewelry. I work for an insurance company by day and make jewelry at
night. I commute one hour each way to work making for short evenings.
There is never enough time to do all I want.
What first made you want to become an artist?
As far back as I can remember, I’ve loved art. Starting in elementary
school I remember drawing pictures. My goal was always to major in
art, but my parents felt this was not “practical” and refused to help
me with college unless I majored in something they liked - a business
degree was good. So, I took the business courses. Since then I’ve been
struggling with the left and right sides of my brain. I have a
“practical job” which pays my bills. About 10 years ago, I went back
to my hometown in MD to visit family. My mother took me to a store she
just loved and I met Sarah, a jewelry designer. It turned out that
Sarah was closing her shop. Buying her inventory of jewelry findings,
mainly brass, was great therapy as I was going through a divorce. I
spent a fortune shipping it all back to Arziona where it stayed in
boxes till last year. I got side tracked by beading and PMC. When
silver prices started going up, PMC got more expensive. One day I
realized I have boxes of brass findings. Eureka!
Please describe your creative process
Creative Process: Going through baggies of brass, watch parts and
beads to see what grabs me. I get easily sidetracked. I go to the
Tucson Gem show every year which can be diasterous. It took me years
to realize that I need to go with a list in hand and a budget in my
wallet.
Can you offer a tip or two of something you learned in making,
photographing, selling, (etc.) your jewelry that you want to pass on?
When photographing your work, it is extremely important to have
good lighting so your that colors in your pictures are as close to the
original as possible. I invested in photography lighting which has
made a difference. Every time I take a picture I try to learn from it
Technique Skill to share...
When closing jump rings you get a real nice clean
closure when you use two pliers. Hold the jump ring with both pliers,
at the same time rotate the jump ring with both pliers, pushing the
ends together to close the gap, however keep going so the ends just
barely go past each other, then reverse the direction so the ends meet
and close. You should hear a click when you reserve the direction and
they touch. This technique gives you a real tight closing with no gap.
What accomplishments are you most proud of ?
The very first article I submitted for publication in
a beading magazine was accepted. What are those odds.
In ten years I'd like to be...
I would like to be making my living designing, writing
how to articles and selling my designs.
5/4/08
Catnip Studio Intro
5/1/08
PINK color challenge
With springs colors finally in full bloom we are noticing the beautiful colors of the earth coming to life. Create a fresh piece of jewelry this month using one of our favorite fresh colors ‘pink’. The great thing about this color is that it can be either subtle or bold. It can be very feminine if paired with the right materials or it can accent more natural tones. Please post PINK projects starting Monday May 26, so that we can have a collaborative team post done by Friday May 30.
4/30/08
Newbie
Hi everyone, I am new here and I hope to be worthy of this fine company one day! You all do such wonderful work, and I want to learn from you. About me, I am 53 year old empty nester, finally, and I have so many things i want to do....I am raising Gypsy horses and I am an Area Rep for CCI, an exchange student organization, and then jewelry and I try to paint oil paintings of my horses. I love to travel, but don't get to often enough. I want to go to Ireland desperately. I am a believer in the "Artist's Way" book by Julie Cameron, That book got me where i am today, doing all the things I loved to do as a child and incorporating them into my life. Highly recommended book!
That's me, a nut in a nutshell;-)
3/28/08
GO GREEN!
GO GREEN!
Use recycled materials, found objects or even scrap pieces to create eye catching jewelry. Many people are concerned with the environment's deterioration and are looking for ways to protect the earth’s precious resources. As designers we know how valuable stones and metals can be to us, and that we gather some of our best inspiration from natures beauty. This GO GREEN project will not only be beneficial on a personal level, but will be a great way to let others know how team Filigree is doing their part to help reduce waste. Let’s show everyone that we truly appreciate the amazing beauty that surrounds us by designing a GO GREEN masterpiece.
3/20/08
Happy Spring!
Spring has finally arrived and to celebrate Filigree has come up some amazing jewelry inspired by nature's budding colors and using flying creatures of all kinds. Paying homage to these winged creatures, we had 9 designers totaling 12 beautiful pieces!
In order starting with the top left are the names of the designers and their jewelry:
The Brass Hussy : Charmed, I am sure - Necklace
Larson Design Studio: Bee Calm Filigree Bracelet
Secret Jewellz: Amethyst Posy Filigree Necklace
Larson Design Studio: Easter Treat Necklace
Aranwen: Vintage Brass Cuff Bracelet
Dancing Hannah: Swallows in the Sunset Bracelet
Katofmanycolors: Spring Calls Softly
Nancmac: Dragonfly Spring Necklace
Vintaj: Lavender Wings by Megan Sharkey
Vintaj: Green Dragon by Rose Noble
Katofmanycolors: Spring in the Jeweled Garden
Larson Design Studio: Bloom Where You Are Planted
