Artisan of the week, Daniel of Catherinette Rings

This week our Artisan of the week is a Canadian jewellery maker, Daniel of Catherinette Rings. The moment I saw Daniel's shop I had to feature him on the blog. His Jewellery is so perfectly formed. I'm a fan of the mixture of materials used and the overall balance of each piece. I look forward to seeing more designs in the future. Now I will hand over to Daniel to tell you more about himself and his craft.

1. Could you please introduce us to who you are and what you do?
My name is Daniel Proulx from Montal. I make Wire-wrapped Steampunk Jewellery with brass, copper and gemstones.

2. What led you to take up your craft?
In April of 2008 I started to make rings just for fun after Catherine (My better half) learned how to make simple wire rings during a 2 hour lesson. I just watched how she made it and tried. Since then I spent several hours every day perfecting and developing my own technique to create an original design. I quickly started to make very retro-futurist model of rings. At that time I decided to embarked into this adventure, quit my job and try to live on the sales of my jewellery full-time.

One day a friend told me what I was doing was Steampunk . I research the subject and fell in love with this culture. I always liked Steampunk style, but I didn't know there was a name for it. Recently I had the chance to have my steampunk jewellery featured in the fashion Magazine Clindoeil and an article about my art in the newspaper Le Voir.

3. Which part of your work do you most enjoy?
Part of my work is to order new material that inspires me to make new designs. One of the most enjoyable parts is when I receive them and can create a new design.

4. Which part do you find hardest?
One of the hardest parts is to work at home all day without co-workers to talk to or interact. I worked in the Travel agent industry for many years and used to talk all the time with my colleagues and customers. I miss working in a team. Its Hard but I got use to it, on the other hand I really enjoy the freedom of being an independent entrepreneur.


5. Where do you hope to be in 1 years time?
The 12 of April 2008 I started the business one year ago and here I am where I never expected to be. In one year I hope I can go on a trip to a Steampunk Convention and to meet other Steampunk Artist.

6. What is the best advice you have ever been given?
When I first quit my job and started to make jewellery full time many people thought it was crazy or that I was making the wrong choice (I don't blame them because its out of the norm). The best advice I've ever been given was by my mother when I was little. It was, always follow your dreams no matter what other people says. If You believe in yourself you can achieve anything.


7. Could you name artisans sites/shops would you recommend are worth a visit?
I accumulated so many links useful for artisan over my first year and in still finding more every day. I made a blog with a lot of these links.

Here are the links that I used the most:
Deviant Art: This is a very nice community where you can share your best deviations, I also have a portfolio there. I really love this site.
My Flickr account.
I also have a Twitter account.

8. What is your favourite sandwich filling?
My favourite is a sandwich with Espanola chorizo, grilled red peppers and cheese.

Thank you Daniel for sharing a bit more about yourself with us. It is a tribute to your great work that you have been featured in so many places after such a short period of time. You have come a long way in just one year. I'm sure your future will be filled with a lot more success. You can see more of Daniel's work on Artfire. I'm in love with the bee above.