A tale of story behind every creation sometimes can lead someone to success. An addiction as what it had started leads our featured artist to create an exquisite unique type of jewelry and eventually publish her ideas and strategies in making handmade jewelry.
Photo courtesy of http://www.making-jewelry-now.com/
Photo courtesy of http://www.making-jewelry-now.com/An above jewelry is the My Gladys Necklace with a turquoise component . The creation of this multiple in color of different sizes of beads started in a tale of two grandmothers in Arizona of the said artist. A fascinating tale that leads to a lovely exceptional design of jewelry.
Photo courtesy of http://www.making-jewelry-now.com/
This is the 2000-Year-Old Arrowhead. A “one shoulder” design, straight and antique arrowhead wrapped securely and hung by a black leather cord. One can definitely create a sole and striking jewels out of something.
Photo courtesy of http://www.making-jewelry-now.com/
Photo courtesy of http://www.making-jewelry-now.com/This is the 2000-Year-Old Arrowhead. A “one shoulder” design, straight and antique arrowhead wrapped securely and hung by a black leather cord. One can definitely create a sole and striking jewels out of something.
Photo courtesy of http://www.making-jewelry-now.com/This Pearl in White Pendant is one of the artist favorite among the other pendant she made out of similar types. A baroque peach pearl framed from a single piece of 14 gauge and 24 gauge soft sterling silver wire with a black faceted glass bead dangles from the bottom.
Photo courtesy of http://www.making-jewelry-now.com/
A piece of tumbled recycle glass turns magically into this Lime Green Glass Pendant above. It’s one of the artist favorite colors among her piece of recycle glass. This pendant goes with nearly everything in your wardrobe.
Photo courtesy of http://www.home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com/
This is the Bronze Paua Shell Pendant. The oval shape paua shell with an exterior often covered with grayish incrustations and a interior layer of shell of an iridescent swirl of intense brown, green and yellow colours wrap in a sterling silver wire that reflects perfections
Now lets turn our attention to our artist Rena Klingenberg for an interview.
Jane: Tell us about yourself, your location, your job and your goals
Rena Klingenberg: I'm a jewelry artist, author, and publisher of creative ideas for making and selling jewelry. I work at home, and I've been completely self-employed for several years, doing a combination of those things!
I started out selling my handmade jewelry, and then added writing - which is one of my other creative loves. My books and websites focus on helping my fellow jewelry artists find ways to build their own successful jewelry businesses.
My business has shifted and changed over the years, as my interests, knowledge, and technology have evolved. That's one of the best things about being self-employed. You have the opportunity to pursue your changing interests and work them into your living. Whenever I dream something up, I think about it creatively until I come up with a way to make it profitable - and then I just do it.
And my goals? To keep evolving and growing in good ways - and to continue to help and encourage other jewelry artists to achieve their dreams.
Jane: How did you start doing jewelry (or beadmaking) as a business?
Rena Klingenberg:I've always loved earrings, and I used to buy them everywhere I went. I guess people must have noticed that, because one year for my birthday I was given a book on how to make earrings - and really it changed my life.
I had actually never thought about making jewelry till then. But once I started, I realized that this was a form of art that I loved and wanted to get into more deeply than any of the other arts and crafts I'd ever done.
Soon I had moved beyond earrings and started making bracelets, necklaces, and all kinds of other jewelry too.
Jane: Every artist has a personal "creative process", can you explain yours?
Photo courtesy of http://www.making-jewelry-now.com/A piece of tumbled recycle glass turns magically into this Lime Green Glass Pendant above. It’s one of the artist favorite colors among her piece of recycle glass. This pendant goes with nearly everything in your wardrobe.
Photo courtesy of http://www.home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com/This is the Bronze Paua Shell Pendant. The oval shape paua shell with an exterior often covered with grayish incrustations and a interior layer of shell of an iridescent swirl of intense brown, green and yellow colours wrap in a sterling silver wire that reflects perfections
Now lets turn our attention to our artist Rena Klingenberg for an interview.
Jane: Tell us about yourself, your location, your job and your goals
Rena Klingenberg: I'm a jewelry artist, author, and publisher of creative ideas for making and selling jewelry. I work at home, and I've been completely self-employed for several years, doing a combination of those things!
I started out selling my handmade jewelry, and then added writing - which is one of my other creative loves. My books and websites focus on helping my fellow jewelry artists find ways to build their own successful jewelry businesses.
My business has shifted and changed over the years, as my interests, knowledge, and technology have evolved. That's one of the best things about being self-employed. You have the opportunity to pursue your changing interests and work them into your living. Whenever I dream something up, I think about it creatively until I come up with a way to make it profitable - and then I just do it.
And my goals? To keep evolving and growing in good ways - and to continue to help and encourage other jewelry artists to achieve their dreams.
Jane: How did you start doing jewelry (or beadmaking) as a business?
Rena Klingenberg:I've always loved earrings, and I used to buy them everywhere I went. I guess people must have noticed that, because one year for my birthday I was given a book on how to make earrings - and really it changed my life.
I had actually never thought about making jewelry till then. But once I started, I realized that this was a form of art that I loved and wanted to get into more deeply than any of the other arts and crafts I'd ever done.
Soon I had moved beyond earrings and started making bracelets, necklaces, and all kinds of other jewelry too.
Jane: Every artist has a personal "creative process", can you explain yours?
Rena Klingenberg: When it comes to making jewelry, I think my best work occurs when I don't have an idea of the finished design. I'm just enjoying and appreciating the materials, and the design just unfolds naturally.
I'm also inspired by random scatterings of beads or supplies on my worktable.
Art history also inspires me - especially Art Nouveau style, and the jewelry shown in historical paintings of any era.
Jane: When people start doing jewelry, they tend to try a lot of different things before settling down to something that resonates with them, tell us how has your jewelry work changed since you began?
Rena Klingenberg: I started out using mainly beads. I have always found so much inspiration in the colors, shapes, patterns, and endless ways of combining them! There's nothing like the thrill of possibilities in beads.
I still work with beads. But my main material now is wire. I started with wirework as a way of enhancing my beadwork with more metal, and discovered that wire has a huge universe of possibilities all on its own!
My jewelry customers really like wirework, so nearly every piece I make now has some amount of wire in it.
And often people bring me small treasures like shells, coins, stones, etc. to wirewrap into pendants for them.
Jane: Can you share with us a some jewelry making or design tips?
Rena Klingenberg: I think nearly any durable object that's small enough to wear has potential to be a jewelry component. Adding some beads, stamping, wire, or other jewelry components can turn odds and ends into really wonderful jewelry.
Also, I like to notice shapes. Nature and architecture have an incredible variety of inspiring shapes and lines that can be translated into elements of jewelry design.
Jane: If you teach, where will you be teaching this year?
Rena Klingenberg:I'm not teaching offline right now. Instead I'm publishing jewelry making tips, techniques, and tutorials online (see my answer to the next question).
Jane: Do you write jewelry making tutorials? Tell us more about it...What is your plan in tutorial writing?
Rena Klingenberg: Yes, I write and publish jewelry making tutorials on my Making Jewelry Now website. I'm leaning toward creating tutorials on specific jewelry making techniques (such as metal stamping) as well as projects such as making long earwires, making wire pendants, etc.
A lot of my project tutorials show how to make jewelry designs that have sold well for me, since the focus of my business is helping and encouraging other jewelry artists to build their own successful jewelry businesses.
Thanks, Rena for the sharing! All the best to your business.
To learn more about Rena Klingenberg designs and jewelry making tips,please visit her sites:
Making Jewelry Now
Home Jewelry Business Success Tips
Jewelry Display Ideas
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