A DAY WITH DESIGNER LORELEI EURTO...

I am still trying to find my way writing for Beads-of-Clay.  I thought that one thing I'm good at is taking an interest in other people.  I enjoy being around people and learning more about them.  Lorelei Eurto is a designer whom I have admired for some time now.  Although she uses many different types of beads in her designs, she often uses ceramic beads, pendants, charms, etc. from many different artists.  One thing that always has amazed me is what a fabulous job she does giving credit to artists whose beads she uses in a piece.  Being a person that has more beads than I can manage effectively, I know that it takes considerable organization to keep track of all of

those artisans.  With all that said, I was going to take Lorelei's answers and make a story from them, however, since she is also a terrific writer, I thought that I would just share her responses with you in an interview format.  I hope that you enjoy reading...

CERAMIC PENDANT BY LISA PETERS ART

What inspired you to be a jewelry designer?

I wanted to try to make my own handmade Christmas gifts, and once I started, there was no going back. After I had made the Christmas gifts, plus 48 necklaces, 97 bracelets, and 52 pairs of earrings, my husband said, enough is enough. START SELLING IT!!

How long have you been designing?

I have been designing jewelry since Dec of 2006. I have been selling it since July 2007.

CERAMIC PENDANT BY THE CLASSIC BEAD

Besides Etsy, are there other ways that you sell? shows? etc.

I typically only do 1 trunk show at my home, and 1 other show in the Fall. Last year was the first time I had done this particular show... it was a fund raiser at a local Jewish Temple. I had a really great time putting together a completely unique and fun display. I have already committed to doing this show again this year. I would love to be able to get into doing a Flea Market or a Farmers market, locally. I tried other venues online like, Artfire, and 1000 Markets. Neither gave me the type of traffic needed to really make money, like Etsy does. I recently submitted my work to Supermarket.com, and am still waiting for an answer. I have tried in the past and have gotten turned down. I am hoping that I have improved a bit since the last time I tried!

What do you like the most about using ceramic beads in your jewelry?

I love using all handmade components in my designs, and for some reason I tend to gravitate towards ceramic beads because of their earthiness. I love the organic shapes, the textures, and the unlimited options of glaze colors. I love how there are a bazillion different ceramic artists out there, and they are all doing their own unique and fabulous thing! It leaves the doors wide open for options, and I think my customers really like this element when buying handmade.

CERAMIC BEADS BY CHINOOK JEWELRY AND MARYANN CARROLL

Do you do this full time or is this something you do in addition to other work?

I work full time in an art museum, here in Upstate NY. I studied Museum Studies in college and although this is my first love, I do enjoy having a lucrative hobby like jewelry to keep me creative! I would love to be able to work part time at the museum and then be able to work more at my jewelry business, and it's always a possibility in the future.

I've noticed that you design websites, blogs, etc. What is it that you like about that process?  What do you dislike?

I really enjoy my blog, much more than I thought I would. I started blogging, with the thought that, probably no one would read it but maybe it would be good for me to have a bit of a diary. Then all these people started reading it and it became less of a diary and more of a catalyst to alert people to the new trends in jewelry, a place to introduce new bead artisans, a sounding board for venting, a place to meet great people, among many many other things!! I have recently started a website as well but have not had much time to consistently update as much as I do my etsy store, my blog, facebook, twitter, etc! Eventually I have a goal to sell mostly on my website, and less on Etsy.

CERAMIC BEADS BY ELAINE RAY AND EVERY HEART CRAFTS

I see that you do lots of custom orders...How do you go about that (does someone write and say I want a bracelet like....??? or do they just tell you styles, beads, etc.

Although I say in my shop policies that I do not take custom orders, they seem to come in anyway. Normally repeat customers or family will ask me to recreate something I have made in the past. I typically like to recreate these pieces with little small differences so that I still maintain the "one of a kind" aspect to my designs. But there are times when designs repeat themselves exactly. I don't normally get requests to create something new and never before created. I have been asked to create jewelry using family mementos such as a family home skeleton key, or a button collection. I like doing requests like these because I can really let my creativity show through and also create a keepsake that means the world to the customer.

THANKS LORELEI!!