STYLIN' SUNDAY...

Marie Noel Voyer-Cramp

A Peek into the Creative Minds of Jewelry Artists...

This week's jewelry artist is Marie-Noel Voyer Cramp. I am always in awe of a woman who can raise children, like Marie does and also stay passionate about what she loves to do. Many often forget who they are once having a family. As a mother of grown children, I would like to take this opportunity to remind young mothers to always remember who you are and keep the skills and talents that are important to you. You will be a better mother for that and you will also be teaching your children a valuable lesson for their own lives.

How did you come up with the name SkyeJewels?

I have always loved Scotland with all it's ancient beauty. Skye is a place in Scotland that inspires me in ways nothing else does. With it's rich colours and amazing landscape.

Top:  Pendant by Every Heart Crafts
Bottom:  Bead by MACarroll

How long have you been creating jewelry?

I made my first piece of Jewelry in January of 2009. I had been working at Pier1 and fixing all their broken pieces and just thought to myself "I could do this, I could do it better!" That is where the story began :)

Heart Bead by Earthenwood

What was it that inspired you to start designing jewelry?

I have always been creative and love to work with my hands. As soon as I made my first piece, it just felt right, like it was my destiny. Everything came so easily to me. The techniques, the colour combos, the different styles. I also wanted to work at home because of my children. I have 4 of them and working outside the home has always seemed illogical to me.

Ceramic Pendant by Earthenwood

I see that you also make your own handmade components, charms, beads, etc. Could you tell us which of those components seem to go the best with ceramic beads and why?

I think that everything I make could work well with ceramic beads, pendants or links. I love to make mixed media pieces so including ceramic just comes naturally. Some of my favorites would be mixing a lampwork bead with a smaller ceramic pendant and a chain. Another would be a bracelet with a mix of ceramic beads and my wood tiles as links or charms or a necklace with one of my pendants as a focal, along with a mix of ceramic and other things wire-wrapped to show their uniqueness. I love to have a variety of beads in a piece because they always seem more unique that way.

Wooden Pendant by More Skye Jewels

Do you do shows as well as sell online? If not, have you considered doing that in your future?

I try to do as many shows as I can find or afford. Christmas, as I am sure you know, is always the busiest time with a show every weekend starting at the end of October! I try to do all the ones around my community and then a few outside of my community.

Ceramic Pendant by Chinook Designs

Have you entered your work in magazines?

I am very lucky in that regard, I submitted for the very first time for the October 2009 issue of Bead Trends very shortly after I started and was accepted for a bracelet {I think I sent in a dozen entries, lol} I figured that if I could do it once I should be able to do it again! So I have been in Bead Trends every month since that first October and I am still going strong! I just heard back on my stringing submissions, the pre-submissions were accepted, so now, to send them in!

How do you use ceramic beads/pendants in your designs?

I try to use a lot of ceramic pendants. You can have so much detail in a pendant, and they are right there for everyone to notice. I love the colours in the glazes and the texture of the ceramic or porcelain. My three favorites for pendants are SummersStudio, Earthenwood, Every Heart Crafts and Chinook Jewelry. For beads I love SummersStudio again, and {go figure} Macarroll. Of course I am most likely forgetting someone important, but those are the ones that come to mind.

Do you have other creative interests that you like to partake in when you are not creating jewelry?

I love to scrapbook! I have about a dozen albums on the go and it gives me a chance to record my family history. I love to layer and embellish and you can sometimes see things come out of that hobby and pop into my jewelry!!

Ceramic Link by Summers Studio Etc.

What is your opinion on online selling? Have you enjoyed it?

This has been the biggest struggle for me, I think. I network a lot to get noticed and try to post as often as I can, I am just so busy with my children, I can't do it as often as I would like. Hence, the results are not as great as they could be. I do enjoy it though. I am always checking to see if I have more hearts and I tweet about my stuff and watch the views go up in number. It's pathetic really, lol, but I get a thrill out of it. I just really want people to love my stuff!

Some additional thoughts:

I feel truly blessed to have been given this talent, and I don't take it for granted. I thank God every day. I am very pleased to be the upcoming "Designer Highlight" for the July issue of Bead Trends, I have a wonderful necklace that is going to be in there that has a Ceramic heart pendant by Earthenwood. The DH was one of my big goals for the year. Another one was to be published in something other that Bead Trends, so hopefully Stringing will come through and the last major one I keep hoping for is a cover! {fingers crossed}

I would love to learn how to make my own ceramic beads someday, perhaps when I have less to do at home with the little ones and I can afford to get a kiln :) I love to learn new things and ceramic has always fascinated me, even before I even knew anything about jewelry.

You can find Marie in many places on the web.  Her jewelry is sold through her website Skye Jewels and Skyejewels on Etsy.  Components can be found at More Skye Jewels and if you are interested in what else is going on with Marie you can check her out on Facebook, Twitter and her Blog.

Thanks Marie for such an interesting interview!
If you are interested in more detail about any of the pieces featured, simply click the pictures.