My favorite tool is a drill a boyfriend gave me. It has opened up my creative world! I can make shapes and designs I never could before. I don’t know how I could have gone so long without one.
Simone Sutcliffe
I love Capers, (the kind you eat)
I just traded in my designer bag for a diaper bag
Hiking Mount Desert Island in Maine is the best
My favorite color is green, but blue looks better on me
What got you started crafting?
My mom. She worked as a seamstress for a porcelain doll company and theater troupe, she now does landscaping, which explains my obsession with nature inspired jewelry! I was always working on a small project either sewing or making clay beads. When you grow up in the woods without a television you need to find ways to entertain yourself.
What is your source of inspiration?
Nature. I love going for walks simply because everything I see inspires me to create. The way leaves look on a tree or the color combination of a birds wing always intrigues me. my favorite part of putting a piece together is the color. I am obsessed! After all of the copper components are joined and in their place I cannot wait to start filling in the color. When I received my fine arts degree it was with a concentration in painting. The way a certain combination of colors can set a mood is amazing to me, and I will always love creating those feelings through my work.
What have you made recently?
I recently made a friendship bracelet inspired pair of earrings. I was inspired to do this after seeing the amazing tribal trend pop up in fashion magazines, runways, and of course; Etsy. But all of the inspiring pieces were bracelets or necklaces. Placing seed beads in a mosaic pattern is a favorite technique of mine.
First I took a gold plated filigree drop and copper square stone setting and drilled holes into the center of both pieces.
Then using a copper rivet to connect I placed the square copper setting on top of the filigree drop, cold-connecting them securely to each other.
Using craft glue, I placed a carnelian stone at the top of the square setting.
Underneath the carnelian stone on the square setting I placed rows of seed beads in alternating colors.
Finally I sealed the beads into place using epoxy resin glue.
I then hung the friendship earrings of a French ear wire
Where do you sell your crafts presently?
I sell my crafts on Etsy. I started selling in 2009, closed my shop after a few months due to a move and reopened in the summer of 2010. I am looking into a few craft and street fairs this summer primarily in the Washington D.C. and Maryland area's. I also (finally!) have my own studio space so I will have a couple of open studio's this summer as well. That way I can show my neighbors what all the drilling and banging is creating. I also barter my jewelry to friends in exchange for babysitting, sometimes they request a special item which I'm happy to make
Why are handmade crafts important to you?
I choose to buy and create handmade because I love the feeling of a story behind every piece. I is also the way I was raised,(my mom made all of our clothes until we turned 5). I like knowing that someone, not a machine, thought out the color patterns or ripples. That the little scratch in the corner of the earring was put there by a human hand just makes it all the precious to me, no one else has those exact earrings with that exact mark in the world.
Find Me
LocationJust outside of Washington DC
Email Address
Simone Sutcliffe
Personal Website
http://simonesutcliffe.etsy.com
Store Website
http://SimoneSutcliffe.etsy.com
EtsyFinds
@SimoneSjewel
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Simone-Sutcliffe-on-Etsy/158588467526544