When I create, I put my heart and soul into my designs, so when i buy something handmade, I know the person creating the product I’m buying puts the same heart and soul into their work.
Chelsea Defino
I just got my ears pierced this year
I love to paint watercolor
I'm so happy to share the same first name with Chelsea Handler
I love music
What got you started crafting?
I got started crafting when I was 12. I have always had a passion for jewelry and at that age I was making beaded bracelets and selling them at craft fairs. my first craft fair I sold with my mom and I made over 60 dollars on my beaded bracelets, which I was selling for like $3 dollars at the time. I then knew I might have a shot at the whole jewelry thing. So as I got older I began to make more jewelry, try new styles, market to boutiques, ect. I have had so much positive feedback and support that I expanded my hobby into a business for myself and now at the age of 19 I am trying to make it my job.
What is your source of inspiration?
Color. I LOVE color. I walk around shops, stores, surf the internet and I will literally make a list of color combinations that I like together and how I could make them work with my designs. And i've been told I have a really good eye for putting colors together. I also get a lot of my inspirations from magazine ads. Not even pictures of jewelry, just ads with people in them, what colors they're wearing, what they look like, and I try to imagine designs that would work for the ad. Its so much fun. I absolutely love designing.
What have you made recently?
My newest creations have been the beaded coil earrings. I love them. They're just so much fun to make, originally I was only going to make one pair to match a specific necklace I was making, but I had such a blast making them that I couldn't stop and I made like a million pairs. I give them to my friends, they're just fun looking. And they're something pretty unique, I haven't seen anything like them anywhere else so I'm hoping they're a hit. *crosses fingers*
Where do you sell your crafts presently?
Right now I am all over the place. I do a lot of local sales, getting orders on Facebook from college friends and people i know. I host jewelry parties where people come and take a look at my creations. I have some of my work on sale in local boutiques. And i just started on Etsy, which is the coolest place ever, I spend more money on Etsy than I make (bad business practice, but fun), but I am really working on getting a good customer base there. I think there's a lot of potential, although there are tons of jewelry sales people there I think my designs are very unique to the regular Etsy crowd and right now I'm just working on getting more people to find my shop.
Why are handmade crafts important to you?
There's something really special about knowing that what you have is unique and made by someone else, by hand, with care. When I create, I put my heart and soul into my designs, so when i buy something handmade, I know the person creating the product I'm buying puts the same heart and soul into their work. I also think its important to support local and small businesses, which is another reason I shop handmade.
Find Me
LocationSaugerties (near Woodstock) NY
Email Address
Chelsea Defino
Personal Website
http://bejeweleddesignsbychelsea.blogspot.com/
Store Website
http://www.bejeweleddesigns09.etsy.com
POUNCE17
@bejeweleddsgns
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bejewled-Designs-by-Chelsea/318667114174