There is a lot of talent to be found on Etsy. Today we are seeing the talent of Aisha from Treasure Box Jewelry on Etsy. Aisha is a wife and mother of two children living in New Jersey. She has many interests including photography, scrap booking and painting in addition to her jewelry creations. Aisha has crafted for as long as she can remember and when Etsy came on the scene, she saw it as the perfect opportunity for her to work in with the responsibility of raising children. However, her children will always remain number one! Etsy allows her to stay home with them while giving her a creative outlet and earn some money. Eventually, she would love to be able to create clothing in addition to her jewelry. What a wonderful complimentary side line!
The Secret Garden Necklace
$18
Aisha has definitely seen her craft evolve over time. She notices that her pieces are more complex and the look is more refined due to the fact that she has mastered some techniques. She also finds she is more willing to take risks in her creations. To help her evolve even further, she is studying the history of jewelry. She feels that so many areas have been added to her life. "Becoming a jewelry artist has opened a whole world for me, and that is a gift in itself", Aisha comments. During the creation process, she really doesn't make sketches or record ideas. She simply keeps them in her mind's eye and they just happen to evolve from there. It is not uncommon for her to have several pieces going at once and will often come up with a name for pieces before they are even completed. Quite ironic, this is exactly how I work! I always being with a set idea, but the piece just somehow seems to create itself and usually looks nothing like my original idea when it is completed. I love this as each piece has it's own life...own essence. Each piece controls itself. I would love to hear comments from others who work this way as there really doesn't seem to be many based on the volume of features I have done! Kudos to you, Aisha! While she is creating, Aisha usually listens to her iPod on shuffle to drown out background noise. She loves to listen to classical while creating.
Moonbeam Bracelet$15
When Aisha hits a roadblock, she will put everything away and take a break to pursue her other interests like gardening, reading or browsing on Etsy. She feels it is very important not to push yourself which she fears will make your love a chore. After taking a short break, she feels the creative flow return. Her favorite venue for selling her pieces is Etsy, but she is branching out to doing craft shows this year. She loves Etsy as it allows her to stay home with her children and give her pieces exposure at the same time. She finds that it is getting harder and harder to get your product out there with the market so saturated with jewelry, so she relies on creating quality pieces in addition to using social networks and word of mouth. She admits to not having paid for advertising yet and also relies on her blog to expose her wares.
Fairy Dust Earrings
$14
She finds that it is getting harder and harder to get your product out there with the market so saturated with jewelry, so she relies on creating quality pieces in addition to using social networks and word of mouth. She admits to not having paid for advertising yet and also relies on her blog to expose her wares. Aisha states that her most memorable moment was putting it all together. What an accomplishment! She was so tickled to receive compliments and hearts!
Sweet Dahlia Ring
$6
I asked Aisha to offer some advice to new business owners. This is what she had to say:
"To not lose heart. It is so easy to get lost in the shuffle, especially since there is so much talent. But you have to remember why you are creating in the first place. If it is just to make money, then maybe you are in the wrong place. I get deep satisfaction and contentment from making my jewelry...and that is without the sales. Just work hard and be patient and believe in what you do. If you believe in what you do then people will see that and they will see your passion and enthusiasm and they will be drawn to both you and your craft. So never lose sight of the true purpose of your craft!"
Contact Aisha:
Blog: http://treasuredlife786.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/aishaTBJ
