World Artisan Gems

Mercedes earrings

Name:  Loella it is a name given to me by my father inspired by a love song from the 70s.

Website Link:  www.LoellaMedina.Etsy.com and www.LaBodaCollection.Etsy.com

Where are you located? I currently live in New York City.

Avizeh

Tell us a bit about yourself:  I was born in the Dominican Republic and as very young girl I already exhibited interest in designing. At the age of six, I would steal my mother’s left over fabrics (my mother is a great seamstress who taught herself how to make girls dresses and would make my sister and me beautiful dresses for special occasions like our first communion). I would use the fabrics to make dresses for my dolls and my sister’s dolls. At that time my father, a Civil Engineer had immigrated to the United States and was supplementing our income by making jewelry (earrings) using buttons and crystals which he would send to my mother in Dominican Republic for her to sell to her friends. The pieces became so popular that my father needed to send my mother boxes full of hundreds of earrings every other month.

When and why did you begin creating your jewelry/art? When I moved to the United States I was 9 years old. My father no longer needed to make jewelry to send to Dominican Republic and we were finally reunited. He still had all of his beads and pliers and being a curious girl, I decided I would make jewelry. At first it was just a hobby something to keep myself busy and deal with the changes of moving to a big city and leaving behind friends and pretty relaxed childhood. It was not until years later when the idea of creating jewelry as a business emerged and that was 3 years ago.

Marisela

What do you make? I make jewelry inspired by my own experiences and travels. The pieces range from earrings, bracelets and necklaces to occasional tie pins.

What materials and methods do you use?  I use precious and semi precious gemstones; Ruby, Sapphire, Topaz, Garnet, Tourmaline, Peridot, Amethyst, etc.  I also use sterling silver, 24k vermeil and gold filled wire and components. I am currently making a transition to 18k solid gold and fine silver and incorporating diamonds to some of my designs.

Where do your design inspirations come from? My sources of inspirations are every day life, travel, life experience, my Caribbean culture. When everything else fails, I either look back to past work or log on to Flickr to browse the works of my favorite photographers.

What is your best working environment/where is your studio? My best working environment is sitting at a small desk with only the supplies I will be using for the particular piece I am working on at the time along with some music (Bossa Nova).

Anaisa

Where can your products be seen? 
 www.LoellaMedina.Etsy.com
www.LaBodaCollection.Etsy.com
www.Trunkt.org/LoellaMedina
http://loellamedina.blogspot.com/

Upcoming events: Look for a special sale November 28, 2008

Magazine articles or press:  My jewelry has been featured in the off-off Broadway production: The New to New York Actor’s Showcase in the summer of 2007; The national magazine: Step by Step Beads during their August/September 2008 edition and will be featured again in their January/February 2009 edition;
In About.com on July 1, 2008 and in the following blogs: Soap Deli News (10/02/2008), Love Bird Design’s Blog (08/13/2008), Indie Style File (10/01/2008), Wickedly Chic (05/15/2008)

Who are you a fan of? I am a fan of sunny days at the beach floating on my back and starting at the beautiful blue sky.

Tell us a little about one of your favorite creations:  One of my favorite creations is the Ignacia Earrings. This is my first piece using 18k solid gold and I just love how the combination of the yellow, orange and blue turned out. It is a vibrant piece of jewelry that is bold and playful at the same time.

Ignacia