How did you get your start?

Artistically speaking, it started when I was very young. My mom gave me a starter sewing machine and let me tear through fabric scraps and my dad had me painting Yosemite waterfalls I’d seen during a family trip on the backs of paper shopping bags. Creativity was always encouraged and when I said I’d decided to study Art in college they didn’t even bat an eye (at least not in front of me!) Jewelry-wise, it was simple. I was looking for a part time job and was hired to help another independent designer make her jewelry. She taught me the very basics of wire wrapping.

Kelia Necklace : $88.00

Do you have any formal training?

My degree is in Art Studio, but I have no formal training in jewelry design or production. Our classes were centered more around fine art- photography, sculpture, printmaking and even papermaking and it was all very conceptual based. I would love to take a metalsmithing class and a class on textiles.

When and why did you create your business?

My first sale was to a couple Cirque Du Soleil members when I was working in their wardrobe department in Boston in 2004. Making jewelry was more of a hobby at that time and I hadn’t really considered turning it into a full time job but they saw me wearing the pieces and wanted to purchase a few. After I returned to California, I worked a couple of different jobs, still making jewelry on the side, but what I really wanted to do was work for myself. I quit my job in Aug. 2006, picked up a few stores and got my business license in March of 2007.

Has it changed at all since you began? How?

The line itself has changed. I’ve developed more of a style, learning to edit and create a story and link between pieces. Creatively, my mind is all over the place and it has taken time to learn how to focus. I feel I’m still developing the line and I see it continuing to evolve and hopefully push the envelope more towards art, verses fashion.

I would add that what hasn’t changed is that I still produce all the jewelry myself and that is a question I get asked often. That will probably be the last aspect I let go of and right now I can’t see ever letting go of that completely. It is important to me that I produce the pieces not just because I like having complete control over the quality and how precise they are, but because I wouldn’t want to buy a painting from someone who had their assistant paint it. Maybe it comes from my background in fine art, but in any case I’m hoping that is something that won’t change for quite some time.

What is the best part of running your own business?

There is a different type of motivation when you are running your own business verses working for someone else. I want to do well in both situations but when I work for myself the motivation is rooted someplace else- it’s more personal and so the payoff has been more rewarding. Having control and flexibility are more obvious bonuses as well.

Eva Multi Wire Wrap Bracelet : $64.00

and the worst?

I think many independent designers will say the uncertainty of how much your paycheck will be at the end of the month, and I agree with that, but I would say the emotional aspects are probably even more taxing. I never anticipated starting and running a business would be such an emotional roller coaster. One minute you are down and bruised by some sort of rejection or lack of sales and then the next you are on the biggest high because a store calls and places your largest order yet. It’s like being involved in some sort of tumultuous relationship but I have learned to recognize that and remember that when there is a low point, if I am just patient, a high point is normally just around the corner.

You create so many wonderful pieces. Where does your inspiration come from?

The materials themselves. It always starts with the physical pieces in front of me. I cannot draw a piece and then create it, I have to have the elements in front of me. Sometimes it’s a certain stone, or a new finding, that I’ll see and usually that is the initial spark. One tiny brass piece or single stone can be the catalyst for an entire design concept. This is why you will find me wandering gems shows looking lost and dazed- it’s because I normally don’t know exactly what I am looking for, but when I see it things start to come together. From there, I’ll sit at my table where it becomes more about the process than the actual materials.

Who is your favorite indie designer?

That is a very difficult question for me. There is a lot of interesting work out there and I enjoy work that walks the line between art and fashion. I am not great with remembering names, but I know it when I see it.
I do have an international artist that I love – Takashi Murakami. I saw his work in New York City and it really was a interesting integration of low art and high art. Visually, it was very, for lack of a better word, shiny and colorful and approachable. I actually think I’m prone to design jewelry with these same properties- I gravitate towards sparkle and colors that are bright and bold, yet the jewelry is very wearable on an everyday basis.

What was your most recent indie buy?

Most recently, I bought a couple handmade woodwork pieces from www.reddogwoodworks.com which is actually my brother’s company. He does mostly commercial work but on the side he focuses on designing artistic yet functional one of a kind pieces, usually for the home such as cutting/serving boards or small tables. I bought a couple wine holders as gifts. What’s amazing is that the wood is not stained so it is purely the natural color of the different woods used that create a such a visual impact.

Yosemite Ring : $56.00

What one thing couldn’t you live without?

My favorite meal- Yogurt, berries and granola and my Chai M.A.C. lipgloss.

What will you be wearing come summer?

I live in San Diego, so what ‘I will be wearing come summer’ is really not much different from what I wear the rest of the year. I’d like to wear more dresses and maybe try harder to branch out from flip flops. However, with the beach being where we spend many of our summer weekends, I might have to wait until Fall to branch out on those shoes….

What music/books/magazines are you into right now?

I’m in the middle of the book, Craft Inc. which is about turning your craft into a business. Even though I’ve already turned my craft into a business it has a lot of useful information and I’m always learning more about the business side of this work. I listen to a variety of music including Coldplay, Rachel Yamagata, Regina Spektor & Death Cab for Cutie and I like to and flip through any fashion or shopping magazine and often read my fiance’s New York Magazine.

You’ve been very successful at selling your designs online, what advice would you give to other designers that are just starting out?

There are two things- First, there is this idea, and understandably so, that as a ‘designer’ you will be designing all day. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I spend a very small percentage of time designing. Most of my time is spent selling, invoicing, logging receipts, bookkeeping, researching, ordering supplies and producing the orders… On top of a million other little things- none which are actually designing. So if you expect to just be designing all day, you might want to consider working for someone else who is simply looking for a designer.

Second- There is a very happy medium between taking small steps and huge leaps. Take too small of steps and you aren’t going to go anywhere, take too huge of a leap and you might fall flat on your face. Find that place in between and be patient.

M.E. Earrings : $72.00

Where do you hope you/your business will be in 5 years?

I would love to have the jewelry selling more widespread across the country on a consistent basis and be maintaining solid relationships with stores where the jewelry does very well and has excellent sell- through. I would also like to see the line evolve, both as a jewelry line but also branch into some other aspect of fashion or art. I have no idea what direction it would actually go but I have a thousand ideas. Jewelry is an extremely competitive and concentrated field. I’d like to add to the line with something that is fresh and maybe not quite as saturated of a field.

Do you have any new projects on the horizon?

I’m in the final stages of the new collection which will be offered to stores mid-July and on the website sometime in August. I am always dreaming up new projects, but currently the ‘project’ that is taking priority is planning my wedding!

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received regarding your business?

My father always said- “find something you enjoy doing and figure out a way to make money doing it.” This might not be specific to my business but more relating to life in general. It has given me the mindset to think outside of the box and venture away from the 9-5 world. In taking that path, you might actually be working 12 hour days, juggling 10 tasks at once and having the occasional panic attack when something goes wrong and you are the only person you can turn to, but in the end you basically enjoy your day to day life and that is really what is most important.

Site: www.moushart.com

Tags: Interviews, Jewelry

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