Today, we are talking with Keirsten Giles of Lune Designs on Etsy.
So, Keirsten, Tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am a self-taught jewelry designer living in northwest Montana. By day I work as a legal secretary. Also self taught. People can probably tell.
A few years ago, I decided I needed a new wardrobe, but had a terrible time finding jewelry to go with it. I looked everywhere and I hated basically everything I saw. (Except for those big sparkly cocktail rings they have for $10 at Herbergers--LOVE those). I decided to try to make what I wanted, and spent a year making truly atrocious jewelry for myself. But even making bad jewelry was fun, so I thought it would be even funner if I actually knew how to do it. I signed up for some Internet tutorials (Tammy Powley at www.jewelrymaking.about.com) and away I went. At one point I stumbled across a Sundance jewelry catalog, and I was well and truly smitten with the jewelry bug. I carried that catalog around with me forever. I think I still have it in my bag in fact.
At the end of the next year there was too much jewelry lying around to wear or give away, so I pondered a more clever (and fiscally responsible) way to get rid of it--and my Etsy shop, Lune, was born in March 2009. I'm still hoping to achieve the "fiscally responsible" part of that plan at some point in the future (I feel devilishly clever, especially after a couple glasses of chardonnay), but for now I have learned to be content with being slightly less fiscally irresponsible.
Our house is small, so I create impromptu studios wherever I have to. I make jewelry in the living room. In the kitchen. In the bedroom. In the other bedroom. On the porch. In the driveway. At work. At the park. On a boat. At the beach. At the campground. And even in my car (but not while driving). Some of my best work was done in the driver's seat of a Toyota Yaris. I haven't yet made jewelry in the bathroom, which no doubt many of you will be relieved to hear.
I've always had strong creative urges, but I can't paint, draw, sculpt, sew, compose music, dance, or play an instrument so it's been a little frustrating. I am a damn fine actress, but I just didn't have the contacts to make it to the big time so I studied French instead (that has worked out really well). I was so relieved, at age 41, to find an artistic medium that I could practice without becoming hopelessly frustrated. I hardly ever cry or throw anything when I make jewelry. In fact I can barely remember the last time I threw a piece of jewelry.
What's your favorite type of cording or fiber to work with in jewelry?
I really only started using more fibers in my jewelry in the last year. I did some knotted pieces with waxed linen, and recently have been using more leather and silk ribbon. I really enjoy using deerskin lacing--it's buttery soft, durable, and easy to work with. I also found a wonderful supplier of 1/2" hand-dyed, hand-sewn silk ribbon, and I love the "organic" look of it--it's a crinkle silk that has a really natural look to it. I've used quite a bit of Greek leather and round leather cord as well, but find it less versatile because of its stiffness. If I had to pick a favorite, I'd have to say deerskin leather--the wonderful leather smell (you guessed right, not a Vegan and apparently not particularly sentimental--although I have it on good authority that the great majority of Bambis whose bodies were reused to make wearable art were already goners thanks to the ubiquitous American motorist), the flexibility and durability of it, and the softness against the skin is downright decadent. And there's something sort of Old West/Southwest/Edgy/Thelma and Louise about it that I like.
Why do you like working with cords and fibers in your designs? What quality draws you to these materials?
I think that's why I started using fibers--I wanted to give some pieces a different "feel." I like the rusticity or edginess that leather adds to a piece of jewelry, that you can't quite get with anything else; and the crinkly, hand-dyed silk ribbons remind me of dried leaves or exotic flower petals, and can give a piece a softer, more botanical feel than just metal chain. I also like the texture contrast of fabric with metal or hard gemstones. It seems to lend each more impact. And of course I think it feels good on.
Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us, Keirsten!
You can find Keirsten at her blog: The Cerebral Dilettante
And
more of her jewelry in her Esty shop: Lune Designs
