Featured Artist? No It's Just Me!

For the first "Featured Artist" entry, I decided just to introduce myself as the person behind the Handmade Chic blog.

I began making jewelry about six years ago when I was sick of never being able to find exactly what I had in mind when I went shopping. This led to an interest in lampwork glass beads, which I would buy to use in my creations. Then, just like with jewelry, I began to have a picture in my mind of the beads I wanted to find. When I couldn't always do so, I decided I would try to make glass beads myself and took a class. Thank goodness my mother trusted me enough not to burn down the house with my torch, and I have been melting glass ever since. Below, you can see my lovely little fuglies that emerged from the flame when I first started lampworking!

I first sold my beads on eBay. Once I felt that the market there was getting saturated and over-run with mass-produced beads, I moved on to etsy. I still have a shop there, and have also recently opened an Artfire shop, and a shop on 1000 Markets. While it's a lot to keep some many shops going at once, I utilize each in a different way, for different goods, and so far, it works for me!

My day job is as a high school special education teacher. My job can be very stressful, and being creative is a much-needed therapy. Without creative outlets, I feel myself slowly wither inside.

I hope that I can help pass the word on why it is good to buy handmade items, not only for the aesthetic sense, but also for the benefit of local economies. My goal is to have the Handmade Chic blog evolve into a place that can serve as a resource for both artisans and those wanting to buy handmade goods.