What is your
business’ name? Lowcountry
Elements and I’m Diane Simon!
What sort of items do
you make? Copper wire jewelry
primarily, but I also use silver filled and silver plated wire. I also make some jewelry from copper sheet,
like cuffs, earrings and pendants, usually with etched designs. I make all my links and jump rings by hand,
and pair those with gemstones or various types of glass and ceramic beads.
When and how did you
learn your craft? I started out looking
for an idea to help my daughter earn a little extra money for a trip to Greece
when she was in high school. I had seen
an article on making beaded earrings, so we decided to try it. I began with simple beading, then took a
metals class at Sawtooth School for Visual Design and I was hooked!
Where do you get your
inspiration from? Both my husband and I
are from the lowcountry of South Carolina – Charleston. Much of my inspiration comes from the nature
of the South Carolina lowcountry – waves, sand, shells, ocean colors, sea
glass….
How did you get
started doing this as a business? I started selling
beaded earrings at work about 4 years ago.
Then after I took the metals class, I began looking at jewelry at craft
shows and in shops and thought – Hey, maybe I could sell some things this
way! Then I visited the Kville Indie
Flea (a Saturday handmade and vintage market) when it was operating in
Kernersville and decided to give it a try.
The Kville Indie Flea has morphed into Eclection, a permanent storefront
- handmade and vintage shop in Kernersville and I now sell my jewelry there,
and at River and Sea Gallery in Wilmington, N.C. I also do a limited number of craft
shows. I plan to retire next year and
then I hope to expand the number of shops carrying my jewelry and also plan to
do a few more craft shows a year.
Do you have any
advice for other crafters/artisans just starting out? Make items that you personally like, not just
things you think will be popular and sell well.
That way you really enjoy it. But don’t lose sight of the fact that it
is a business, and it’s no fun if nobody buys your items. Customer service is of the utmost
importance. Making that connection with
the customer is what makes it fun for me.
I love to make custom items for my customers and have quite a few repeat
customers who purchase annually. Last
year, for example, I had a customer contact me that I had not heard from
recently and I created four new pieces for her from some vintage jewelry that
was her mother’s. I took one bracelet
and made several bracelets and necklaces by taking the major components and
adding new wire links and a few new beads. That was really a fun project!
Anything else you
would like to share? I
am so thankful to live in the Triad where there is such a welcoming,
cooperative community of artisans. Folks
here value local and handmade, and appreciate the time and effort that goes
into one-of-a-kind items. When I make a
necklace, there are so many steps – creating the links and jump rings, wiring
the components, assembling the piece, cleaning, adding a patina, polishing with
steel wool then sealing the patina with microcrystalline wax. The customers in this area value and
appreciate that hard work and it makes the whole process enjoyable.
Lowcountry Elements will be a featured artist at the First Friday Indie Market on September 5, 2014. The market is located on the corner of MLK and Elm St in Downtown Greensboro, NC and is open from 4-9 pm.
To find out more about Lowcountry Elements:
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