 |
| Stacker Rings |
As a musician, I had been looking for hand cut stamped guitar picks on Etsy.com. Fortunately I found BeadSoul custom jewelry and more. She had such fresh, clean lines and attuned for accuracy. So impressed, I asked her for a blog bio.
Before I could ask about her background, I had to know if she was a musician as well and why guitar picks? Lisa was kind enough to share this story:
 |
| Tasty Trio |
" I fell into making the guitar picks quite by accident. A repeat customer saw a shop with them on Etsy but she thought I could do a better job. She asked me to make one for her daughter's guitar teacher for Christmas 2010. I said sure, ran to get a guitar pick for a template and just went for it. I look at the pictures of that one and cringe. She and the instructor were happy, but it was pretty elementary, lol! I am so grateful to her for that request, you have no idea. I am really good at cutting them out now and cut all of them myself except for the aluminum ones- that metal is just too thick for me to mess with, but I like to offer it as a good pendant alternative."
Lisa Hamilton, age 45, has lived in Denver, CO area her entire life. She currently lives in the same town as one of my sisters: Littleton. She blames her mom for her interest in jewelry making. Lisa said she would go nuts every year trying to come up with a gift for her and decided to create something with her hands- that way she couldn't say, "you shouldn't have!" She was hooked.
 |
| Brass Pick |
"Mom always was crafting, crochet, macrame, pottery, etc, and it rubbed off on me. Eventually, I got tired of stringing beads and began to explore other ways of creating jewelry. I stumbled upon metal stamping/metalwork and the light went on! I do a more "quick and dirty" form of metal work. I had to make due with what I already had and add equipment slowly. I would probably horrify more traditional metalworkers with the shortcuts I take. I also have a neurologic movement disorder that doesn't allow me to do some of the finer motor skills, such as detailed saw work. I have fun, get to try new things and have found that I can do more than I can't do."
I asked about her favorite feedback from customers. She said, " I get convos and feed back from people who cried when they opened their gift box- that just blows my mind that I can bring someone that much joy!"
All jewelry makers have their challenges. When I asked Lisa what hers are, she replied;
"The hardest part of my work would be the fact that I really want to make people happy and can be overly neurotic and worry if they like things. I cause myself a great deal of harm when 99% of the time, people are delighted (insert laugh)!
It seems as though jewelry making would not create an environment for disaster and Lisa concurs:
"Mishaps have been pretty tame, though I did watch myself as I got a polishing wheel caught in my scarf the other day... that could have been pretty bad! Most mistakes with this are learning experiences, which is great!
Injuries are mostly burns, cuts and an occasional hammer blow gone bad. I am pretty fortunate and feel my guardian angel deserves a raise; I can be clumsy and have the "dropsies" sometimes."
Lisa married at the young age of 21 young and has 3 kids who are mostly grown. Her oldest just graduated from college; middle is son in college and youngest is 20.
"She is an amazing kid. They all are. My hubby is a teacher and is the real hero. Teaching second graders is tough enough, but these days it seems to be more difficult. He loves kids and it is heartwarming to see how hard he works to help them learn. He is my biggest cheerleader and moral support. I was having a meltdown at Christmas due to a huge rush of orders- he just calmly told me that I could do it and he would help me with the packaging- what a guy!"
 |
| Canyon Copper Wire Ring |
"I would like to teach more and don't know how that would fit in my life right now. My kids don't need me much and will be gone before I know it; who knows?"
Lisa, I know plenty of musicians who will need those picks!
I was so lucky to have had the pleasure of speaking with Lisa via phone. She is gracious, full of energy, positive and very uplifting. I am of the belief that these attributes show through in her jewelry.
Here is some information to follow Lisa
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for posting!