Eyelet Sage Studio: Artist Interview: Jeanne of Three Wishes Studio

{Jeanne with one of her daughters, Kiera}
Today I'm glad to have the opportunity to talk to Jeanne of Three Wishes Studio. Jeanne is a jewelry designer, wife, and mother of three who works full time. Her favorite color is any shade of green, and states "Other than taking this leap of faith with opening a shop on Etsy, I’m ridiculously normal." She loves any sort of breakfast that involves coffee and someone else making and serving her something (sounds like a good idea to me!). On the weekends she likes to enjoy "the gift of time with nothing you have to do [because] that makes a weekend special." If she could travel anywhere in the world she'd go to Australia, Spain or Greece, but really would love to go anywhere outside of the landlocked Midwest. She did say this about her most recent trip "I [...] dog sat for my sister who lives in Solana Beach, Ca. Five days, four nights, with no kids to feed, bills to pay, laundry to do. It was just me and two easy going Jack Russell Terriers. I made tons of jewelry, drank wine, listened to music, walked on the beach and watched movies. It was heaven!"

After discussing some fun stuff we got down to business with her shop questions:

1)What started you in your art/craft?
Beading has been a hobby of mine for some time. So, a few years back when I was between jobs, I started taking classes, learned some new techniques, and eventually ended up having so many things on hand I decided to sell my jewelry on Etsy.

2)What are your favorite materials/tools?
I love, love, love vintage beads and components and am especially fond of Lucite. The material can hold great color and detail and is also very lightweight which makes the jewelry extremely easy to wear. Lately I have become obsessed with enamel and hand dyed ribbon. I’m always experimenting, which is the fun part!

3)Who's your biggest inspiration?
My creative inspiration comes from the materials, of course, but also from colors and patterns in nature, graphic art, fabric, current and past fashion, films and TV. I’ve always had a keen interest in costume and set design.

I have also had the opportunity to work with many fearless and successful entrepreneurs in my former career life, and they have taught me so much about pursuing your dreams and remaining true to your own style.

4)How long have you being producing your work/How did you get started in it?
I opened my Etsy shop in February 2009 so I'm still a newbie! I've been making jewelry for the past few years. I am hoping to branch out into some other online venues and local craft shows and art fairs.

5)Where do you hope your art will take you in the next year?
I would love to be able to spend more time making things! With three kids and a full-time job my studio time is limited to weekends and evenings. My goal is to slowly replace hours on my 9-5 job with hours in the studio! That will come with lots of hard work and consistent sales.

6)Is there anything you want people to get/take away from your work?
My wish is that my customers have as much fun wearing their jewelry as I have creating it.

7)What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?
Much as I would like to simply list items and watch them sell, it just doesn’t happen. You really do have to promote. I am considering starting a blog and recently joined twitter. I am a member of the Etsy Bittersweeets team. Our challenge is to list at least one new item every day. That keeps me productive and the team is a super supportive group of sellers. You can find team members' work by searching "dailychallenge" in the search bar. I also participate regularly in the forums. There are so many creative, supportive artisans on Etsy. It really is a wonderful community of creativity!