Handmade Jewlery, Bags, Clothing, Art, Crafts, Craft Ideas, Crafting Blog

Mellow Glamour

in Featured Crafters, Handmade, Jewelry on

It is so great to see how many people there are out there that feel it a genuinely worthy cause to support and encourage the handmade/crafting/indie-designer movement.  In all honesty, its one of the very things that gives me hope and keeps me going!

telle terhorst lefler

Random Facts About You?

-my instrument of choice is a tambourine
-i was born with an extra tooth, which later had to be removed. by a man wearing a bowtie. no joke.
-i once drank an opium/water concoction out of a medicine man's hands in india...where i am pretty sure opium is illegal
-i hope to be reincarnated as a unicorn



What got you started crafting?

it's difficult to pinpoint an actual moment; i have always been making things. it may have started with the rocks i used to dress in diapers, or the secret world of elves i created in the hedges of my yard, or the micro-business i started with a friend in 5th grade selling custom friendship bracelets to everyone in the neighborhood. crafting is in my spirit, a culmination of resourcefulness and a wildly active imagination.



What is your source of inspiration?

oh god! i can find inspiration in the slightest of things, or in the most random places. i am very romantic in my inspirations; some things that come to mind:
-gritty old industrial towns
-a sky full of ominous clouds
-the changing of the seasons
-shoreline
-celestial bodies
-sunsets;sunrises!
-riding the train home at 2am



What have you made recently?

i just started this necklace series i call "chief two horse"; i use antique african snake beads from the late 1800s, antiqued brass chain, and silver feather charms to create a simple but intriguing design with a tribal feel.

what makes this series to near to my heart is that i have dedicated it to my late grandfather, jerald f terhorst, who served as president ford's first press secretary. when ford decided to pardon nixon in 1974, my grandfather made the decision to resign in protest to what he felt was an unconscionable decision. in his memory, 10% of every chief two horse sale goes to votesmart.org, a nonprofit he was involved with.





Where do you sell your crafts presently?

i have been on etsy since 2007 in various forms and fashions; recently, i made the plunge--headfirst--into selling my designs as my only source of income (damn the man!). determined to succeed as an artist, i have started exploring more options, i.e. local boutiques, online indie boutiques, and i am even working on a shop at my very own domain: www.shopiswas.com. it's under construction but should be up and running soon, so very soon!



Why are handmade crafts important to you?

when i look at the present state of the consumer culture in this country, i see people so jaded by material goods, to the point where the vast majority of people don't care who made what they are buying, or even if its of a good quality. the price tag or brand name seems to be more of a determining factor than whether something is made with care and creativity.

to me, material items in my life have always had an overwhelmingly emotional connection; the things i covet most seem to be things that were made by hand, that have a story, that were built to last.



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