Handmade Store: Happy Shack Designs

Thanks for stopping in! If you love colorful artisan jewelry with a dose of fun, then you've come to the right place.

Hi! I'm Kelly, the force behind Happy Shack Designs. I live in a happy little shack on the river in Jacksonville, Florida, with my husband and twin daughters. Happy Shack Designs is a dream long in the dreaming. I've wanted to create my own business doing some sort of artwork for as long as I can remember.

Before getting into jewelry, I've spent countless hours working on various needlecraft and sewing projects, skills learned from my mom and my grandmother. I can credit my foray into jewelry to my girls. When they were born, I wanted a mother's bracelet. I saw several styles in catalogs, and all were approximately $100 for a simple double strand! That's when I decided to teach myself how to make jewelry. From there, I was hooked, Happy Shack Designs was born, and I am self-taught through trial and error.

I use only the highest quality materials, including sterling silver, Thai silver and fine silver, gold vermeil, 14K gold fill, and 14K gold. I'm addicted to handmade lampwork, so I work primarily in lampwork and Swarovski crystal, but you'll also see pieces incorporating gemstones and pearls. My husband and I both are learning the art of lampworking ourselves through more trial and error. He's a pipefitter by trade so he's very comfortable working with a torch. My work contains our beads as well as beads I've collected from all over the world.

Occasionally you'll see my handbags included here. Having learned how to sew in high school, I never wanted to tackle clothing, but I've always loved handbags and have a closet full, so there you have it! I use all designer fabrics and trims, primarily heavy duty upholstery fabric, and often incorporate beadwork into the handbags as well. Sometimes I also get a wild hair and go off on completely different creative tangent with projects, so you'll never know what you'll find in my store on any given day.

On a personal note, I love the outdoors, play the guitar badly, play the piano fairly well, sing somewhere in the middle, love to bake (I leave the real cooking to my husband...), and have the most adorable little red-headed twin daughters ever seen (comin' from a proud Mama); they are the light of my life. Thanks for checking out Happy Shack Designs!