dedabl: Featured Artist Love Jewelry by J

I am so happy to present you my fellow Etsian Janelle from LOVE JEWELRY BY J. Please take a moment to meet this Hawaiian girl who makes beautiful so feminine and softly delicate jewelry.
Enjoy her story...

Fancy Freshwater Pearl Necklace by Love JewelryByJ

I am originally from the beautiful state of Hawaii (from the island of Oahu) and went to school in Southern California, which is where I am currently. I married my husband, who's from Southern California and that kind of sealed the deal that I wasn't going back. My family is still there, so I still return to visit and Hawaii will always be home.

I have always been very crafty (scrap-booking, card-making, stamping, you name it!) and I can remember from a very young age drawing, painting, trying to sculpt stuff.
I even remember making jewelry out of found items and paper.

My parents told me I couldn't count on art for income (my dream was to be a painter), They told me if I was a doctor, I could hang my paintings in my waiting room.

I majored in science, but I still minored in fine art. Needless to say, I'm not a physician, but I am in the medical field and about a year and a half ago, found a part of myself that I thought was lost when I started making jewelry.

Lisa earrings pearl and amethyst by LoveJewelryByJ

I would say I'm pretty much self taught.

I got into jewelry making because a friend that I work with was totally into it. I'm not sure if she was selling, but she was making a lot.
I asked her to help me make a knotted pearl necklace and I was hooked from there.
I saw a fake pearl necklace at a store (for $50) and thought to myself that I could make that myself out of real pearls! The same friend took me to the jewelry district and helped me pick up some supplies (it was very overwhelming as they are not big on customer service), but I taught myself how to do loops, hooks with the wire, etc. I have to admit, the library has been a big help, too. I've borrowed a lot of books to improve my technique and give me ideas. I would really like to take a formal jewelry class and eventually learn about stamping metal or soldering or even pouring and making my own molds. I'm not completely sure that's for me and would probably be a full time commitment.

Jeanette necklace knot and pearls in gold filled

I like simple jewelry that lets the material speak for themselves. I like designs that are minimal yet interesting and can either dress up or down an outfit. I guess feminine but with a modern twist. Lately, I've been moving more towards letting the metals speak for themselves and less with the stones. And when I do work with stones, I like very minimal frills.
I like the stone to shine through. I also lean towards monochromatic designs. I guess I like things that are contrasting - like a delicate chain and a chaotic knot pendant or delicate and ultra feminine pearls with skull beads (I have made these, but I love skulls so much that I can't bear to part with them). It makes for an interesting dynamic of the piece - I guess classic with a bit of edge. I work exclusively with semi-precious stones, sterling silver, 14k gold filled and argentium sterling silver.


Chic chaotic knot in sterling silver

My favorite part of creating definitely is shopping for materials! I think I could do that all day long and can never get enough! I actually spend a lot of time researching and deciding who offers the best prices on what. And of course, I'm sure you know, that no one ever offers the best prices on everything. I buy a ton of stuff at one time, too (which definitely costs money) but then I have to pare down on things that I think are causing me to go over budget. I don't really design on paper, but work with copper wire as my 'practice' wire and try things that just pop up in my head. A lot of times, I'll think and work a design in my head for a couple of days before putting it in wire. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. A lot of times, what I think I can do, I really can't.

In my free time I like to read, watch TV, work out and make jewelry, of course! This is a hobby for me - I have a job that unfortunately gets in the way.

I asked Janelle to indicate me her favorite artists from Etsy, here is what she answered and why she like them...

Silver cell ring by Nervoussystem

NERVOUS SYSTEM - They have jewelry that has very clean lines and are nature-inspired. I love it! If I could melt metal and make my own templates, I would totally do that, but I don't want to burn down my house, so that's not an option. I told my husband I wanted to buy a torch so I could solder my silver stuff and he gave me a blank look and said, "you know our house is made of wood, right?"...LOL.

MOLECULAR MUSE This shop makes jewelry out of the chemical structures of stuff like chocolate and oxytocin and alcohol. I was a bio chem major in college plus the jewelry is so genius with clean simple lines. I admire this stuff a lot. Maybe one day I will be able to afford something =)

Hope you enjoyed reading about this talented artist. Fell free lo leave her some comments and give her support. She recently opened her shop on etsy so she needs also new fans for her facebook page and her blog. I am sure that she will support your pages too.

You can find more pictures of her jewelry and more details following this link to her shop

On line shop: www.lovejewelrybyj.etsy.com

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/JewelryByJ

and her blog www.lovejewelrybyj.blogspot.com