Meet the Maker: Glowfly

Can you give us a quick summary of your business and what your role is?

I sell handcrafted, one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry and my main role in the process is mad scientist, dreaming up new concepts and techniques I want to explore and spending the nights after my toddler’s gone to sleep in my studio. I do everything from posting, listing, responding to customers, buying supplies and sometimes cutting stones. A one-woman operation. Except my husband helps with finding stones. He’s a better rockhound than I am. 

What inspired you to start making jewelry?

As so many of us are, I am a born maker. Not quite satisfied with the over-the-top-pink-everything my Barbies had, as a kid, I spent a good amount of time designing and making new outfits for them out of my Grandma’s scrap cloths on her machine. I also sent my Barbies on archaeological digs and constructed hidden landscapes for them to explore (lots of holes in the side yard). I’ve tried most anything creative at least once and so have bounced from knitting, wood-working, and painting, among others. My senior year of college, I took a class in silver-smithing and was hooked. It feels like such a wild west of techniques and design that one can easily spend several lifetimes trying to perfect all the possibilities. 

Do you have a favourite piece in your store right now?

 Probably my “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” Necklace. It was submitted for this year’s Oz theme at the San Diego County Fair. Bismuth is so cool, but also so weird to figure out what to do with. It dovetailed quite nicely with the theme.

What is one tip you would give someone starting their jewelry business?

Don’t be disheartened if your store doesn’t take off right away. It really takes time to reach out to the art-lovers who are going to love what you do. They are out there. You may have to explore all sorts of techniques to find them.

What is the best advice you have every received about running your business or honing your craft?

My friend and former jewelry teacher recommended decorating the backsides of pieces when possible. It really does signify that someone put their heart into a piece and thought into the wearer. Some stones are too pretty to cover even the backside; I’ve done pieces on which I’ve liked the backside more than the front. Not every piece I do has it, but I try to when I can.

Check out Glowfly here.

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