My great aunt Julia and uncle Francis sold Native American jewelry so that was my first introduction into jewelry and began my love for it( and influences my style now) but it was a trip to New Mexico when I was about 13 that really started me in physically making jewelry. I walked into a gallery called Mariposa and that was it, I was hooked. My mom and I bought this wooden brooch that was made up of many layered craft wood pieces then painted brightly and with tiny patterns on each layer( I'll try to locate it and post a pic later). I went home and played with wood and paint for quite awhile then I discovered Sculpey a few years later after going into Metalwerks gallery in Memphis where I would eventually sell my own pieces and work. These little sculpey sandwich earrings were probably my first purchase before launching into years of polymer clay jewelry making.
Check out my teammates Debbie and Beth and see what was their influence to start making jewelry.
Debbie Ritchie http://www.fentondesign.ca/blog
Beth Cyr: http://BethCyr.com/blog
