Artist of the Week

Congratulations to Amanda of Chloe Boutique as this week's featured artist!

Introduction- Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Amanda and I'm an Environmental Scientist by day, and the jewelry artisan behind Chloe Boutique by night!  I currently reside in West Monroe with my wonderful Husband and my two furbabies...Chloe the Pug (my baby!) and Ellie the Beagle.  I'm originally from northern West Virginia...the heart of the Appalachian Mountains.  I moved to Louisiana in January 2003 when I began my Graduate studies at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.  I landed my current position immediately after I graduated and haven't left!
 

How did you get started making handmade items?
I started making jewelry in the spring of 2007 when I found myself annoyed because I couldn't find quality, chic accessories for outfits.  It continues to amaze me the lack of quality in basic jewelry you find in every day stores.  Not only is my jewelry carefully hand-crafted with attention to detail, I feel my prices are very reasonable considering I use real gemstones and pearls, artisan-made beads, Swarovski crystals, and quality metals.  Women like inexpensive REAL jewelry...and prefer unique over "cheaply mass-produced"!
My pieces are perfect for everyday wearing. One piece can be casual enough to be worn with your favorite pair of jeans, or dressy enough to be worn with your business attire, or even a nice evening out!


What does a typical day look like for you?
Very routine.  I get up at 5:30 am and work 4- 10 hour days Monday through Thursday.  I work on jewelry at night and on weekends or as time allows.  The jewelry side is typically busier in spring (weddings) and late summer/fall (shows and Holiday orders). 

If you could tell someone anything about Louisiana, what would you tell them?
The food is phenomenal. You won't find food like Louisiana cuisine anywhere!  "I guarantee!" (as in Louisiana-Native, Justin Wilson's famous line).  And, it's HOT down here (coming from a born and raised northerner)!

What is your favorite item to make?

This is hard for me to decide on!  I love working with Brides...they are some of my favorite customers.  There is something so rewarding and fulfilling about creating jewelry for a girl's "Big Day"!  I also love creating fall-inspired pieces as it's my most favorite time of year (again, I'm born and raised northern and we have spectacular autumns back home!)


What is your favorite food from Louisiana?
This is another tough answer...probably seafood/duck gumbo!

Any other information you'd like us to know?
I love the great outdoors...my undergraduate degree is in Wildlife Ecology and my Master's Degree is in Biology/Ornithology.  I get most of my creative inspiration from nature.  I love gemstones! They're ‘handmade’ by Mother Nature! I take what Earth has provided and I add flair to it.

One day I would like to live in western North Carolina...that's my favorite place!!!

Visit Chloe Boutique at the following places:

Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/wildlifer78
ArtFire: http://www.artfire.com/users/chloeboutique

Local: Little Green Boutique, Monroe

Chloe Boutique even has a cool blog!! Show her some love!!

http://chloeboutique.blogspot.com/

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/chloeboutique

Chloe Boutique is giving away a $15 gift certificate good for either of her shops (etsy, artfire) or if you are local, you can use it in the Little Green Boutique in Monroe.

In order to have a chance to win this $15 gift certificate, you can visit either of her shops & comment below on what is your favorite item. You must also follow her blog!

Extra Entries include:

-Follow Handmade LA if you aren't already a follower

-Like Chloe Boutique on Facebook

- Tweet about Chloe Boutique

The winner of last week's giveaway is Susanmeep! Congrats to you!! :-)

Winner of Craft a Long Is.............

USA Pride Earrings by ChloeBoutique!!!

Congrats Amanda!! Be sure to check out her shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/wildlifer78 
and her facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/chloeboutique
and on twitter: http://twitter.com/chloeboutique

Winning Piece:

 

Thanks to all who voted and entered! Stay tuned for next month's challenge!!!

~Amy

December Craft a Long Winner Is....

Amanda of ChloeBoutique for her Peace Dove Earrings!

Congratulations Amanda!! Thanks to everyone who participated and keep an eye out for our January Craft a Long voting soon!

~~~Amy

Member Artisan Profile: Chloe Boutique

Amanda, owner of Chloe Boutique, has been creating beautiful artisan jewelry for about 3 years. She found herself increasing frustrated when she couldn't find high quality, chic accessories for outfits. She explains, “When I did find something in a store, it just seemed so cheaply put together with wires sticking out, or coatings chipping off of beads, cheap metals that quickly tarnish, etc., and, stores charged a lot for this mass produced sup-par jewelry! I knew I had to have a creative side to me; my entire family is artistic. Just took me a while to find my own creative niche!”

One of her favorite pieces is one she made for herself for autumn. Using a friend’s handcrafted polymer clay maple leaf bead as a focal point, she embellished it with peridot, citrine, carnelian and red aventurine, and Karen Hill Tribe Silver. “[It] features all of those gloriously warm and cheerful autumn colors that I miss so much,” says Amanda, who originally hails from northern West Virginia, in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains.



Amanda draws her inspiration from nature. “Born and raised in the beautiful mountains of northern West Virginia, I appreciated the simple things in life. As I got older and went to college (my Bachelor of Science degree is Wildlife & Fisheries Management, Master of Science degree is Biology with an Ornithology concentration--Study of Birds), that only intensified.” She continues, “I love gemstones! They're ‘handmade’ by Mother Nature! I take what Earth has provided and I add flair to it. My pieces are perfect for everyday wearing. One piece can be casual enough to be worn with your favorite pair of jeans, or dressy enough to be worn with your business attire, or even a nice evening out!”

Amanda cites keeping up with fashion trends as her biggest challenge. “I usually create jewelry that I would personally wear. I tend to stick to medium sized stones, and streamline in design,” she explains. “I'm not usually one to go huge and bold since I have a smaller frame. So, it's really hard to make things out of my comfort zone and [still] feel that it fits in to my Chloe Boutique jewelry line, if you will.”



When asked the favorite thing about her work, she says, “I love the vast possibilities that you have as a jewelry designer. The world is literally your limit! With all of the colors, shapes, cuts, sizes, and types of gemstones alone, your jewelry creativeness is limitless! Then, you add the array of metals, findings, artisan-created lampwork glass (which is unique in itself with no two pieces being the same) and polymer clay beads, crystals, glass, vintage beads, etc., you can just let your mind go crazy...just hope your fingers can keep up with all the designs that play in your head!”

With nearly 450 sales in just 2 ½ years, she’s in a fine position to offer advice to other sellers. “Promotion is key to being a successful seller. This is hard for me personally because time does not allow me to promote as much as I would like. Jewelry making started off as a hobby, and something to supplement my own personal jewelry box. I do have a full-time day job,” Amanda says. “But, for those that create and sell as their livelihood, self-promotion seems to be the successful tool. Join groups, have a blog (and keep it updated, this is something I admit to be lacking in), submit your work to local galleries, magazines, etc., do craft shows, get business cards made and hand them out everywhere you go, get yourself a Fan Page on Facebook and post your work there. There are so many things you can do to promote your work. Get as many people to your sites as you can...they'll like what they see, and they will most likely spread the word!”

When asked what skill she’d like to learn, Amanda says she’d like to improve her wire-working skills. “I’m so intimidated by the whole ‘wire-wrapping of gemstones’ concept that I do them few and far between. So, I end up almost starting over each time I create a wire-wrapped piece of jewelry.”

For the curious, Amanda’s pseudonym, Wildlifer78, is her original Etsy buyer’s ID. Her shop name, Chloe Boutique, honors her dog, a pug. (In addition to pug Chloe, she also has a beagle named Ellie.)

Amanda lived for a short time in New Orleans when she was a year or so old. She returned to Louisiana to pursue a Master's degree at the University of Louisiana, Monroe. Her research was studying migratory songbirds and determining the forest management practice effects on their abundance and vitality.

“I always wanted to see and work in the bottomland hardwood forests of the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley. So, that's why I chose to do my Master's work here,” she explains. “I met my husband while working as a student worker at the local Wildlife and Fisheries office. We married in November 2004, built our first home in 2005, and both have good jobs here. Louisiana is now home!” She enjoys her day job as an Environmental Scientist for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.

Other personal interests include the outdoors, exercising (especially running), hiking, backpacking, canoeing/kayaking, occasional hunting/fishing, and bird watching. She says, “I also thoroughly enjoy traveling, spending time with friends and family, reading, music, shopping (like any other girl!), cooking (mostly baking), and of course being creative.”

Amanda’s stunning creations can be found at the following:
http://www.wildlifer78.etsy.com
http://www.artfire.com/users/chloeboutique
http://twitter.com/chloeboutique
http://www.facebook.com/chloeboutique (fan page)
http://chloeboutique.blogspot.com

Wordless Wednesday..almost

We're going ALL THE WAY BABY! Superbowl here we come!

Chloe Boutique