Artisan of the week, Suzanne from Jewelry to Keep

Hi all! It's Sunday again and we have another artisan to share with you. This week we go into the world of beading with Suzanne from Jewelry to Keep. Suzanne uses a variety of beads and gem stones in her work and is inspired by many things. I'll let her tell you a bit more about herself and her work.

1. Could you please introduce us to who you are and what you do?
I am a retired paediatric nurse practitioner. I have 2 grown sons and 7 wonderful grandchildren. Besides making jewelry I love to read. My husband is also retired and we like to travel. This summer we are planning a 5 month trip across the United States.

2. What led you to take up your craft?
Several years ago a friend asked me if I wanted to take a jewelry class with her. It sounded like fun so I did. I fell in love with it but didn't have much time to devote to it. I was working full time and had kids in college. Then about 5 years ago I went back to it. I started to make pieces for friends and family as gifts. I got so many compliments on the items that I decided to take a couple more classes. Then I was really hooked. I started reading magazines and looking for more info online. I just started trying to sell online. It is fun but very competitive.

3. Which part of your work do you most enjoy?
The creative end. I like learning new techniques and then trying it with different beads or tweaking it some to get a new look. There are so many different things that you can do. I like working with crystals and pearls. The colors available are amazing. They even look like expensive jewelry at a fraction of the cost. Which is fun because it makes nice jewelry affordable for most people. I would love to learn how to fuse glass and also make lampwork beads some day. They are really beautiful too.

4. Which part do you find hardest?
The marketing and selling. I love to create. Selling is not my thing. I do it so that I can keep on creating. The perfect thing for me would be someone that would take my things and sell them and not rip me off in the process.

5. Where do you hope to be in 1 year’s time?
I would like to have enough repeat customers or recognition that I can sell a few pieces each month. If I can cover the cost of what I am making each month then I will be happy. I just love doing what I am doing. It is fun to make new things. And also very relaxing.

6. What is the best advice you have ever been given?
How to take good pictures of my jewelry. When you are selling jewelry online the customer does not have the ability to try on the piece. So they need good pictures at various angles so they can visualize how the piece would look on them. So the better your pictures the more likely a customer is to purchase your jewelry.

7. Could you name artisans sites/shops would you recommend are worth a visit?
Spoiled Bratzwear. She makes the greatest dog clothes. Her dog jammeez are the cutest things I have ever seen.
Also, AAE Art Glass. She makes glass pendants that are phenomenal. I have also purchased items from both of these sites and they are great sellers as well.

8. What is your favourite sandwich filling?
Peanut Butter. I could eat it every day. This peanut butter recall has hit me hard.

Thank you Suzanne for getting involved with Autonomous Artisans. You can see more of Suzannes work and keep up to date with what's going on in her world over on her blog If you want to read more about her inspiration for each piece you see here click on the photo and get taken to the listing where you can read all about them.
Have a fabulous Sunday everyone!

Written by Lynne of the Pirate Pixie Crew and Hyperloop Hoops