ColdhamCuddliescalling

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BESTeam Feature Blog for May 13, 2012 -  FashionWire owned and operated by Connie Tescar

Connie describes herself as a wire wrap jewellery artist and designer - and I have to confess that I’ve never come across that term before.  However, the longer I am a BESTeam member, the more I come to realise just how many kinds of jewellery artists abound in our group, and the wide variety and scale of their artistic capabilities.  Connie is no exception, and kindly made time to answer some of my questions when I put them to her late last week.

Seeming to specialise in offering ear rings and pendants, Connie uses semi-precious stones and other materials and for this feature, I’ve decided to concentrate on highlighting some of the ear-rings.  Had I got pierced ears, they would certainly be on my shopping list - and I suggest they might well become strong contenders in many other folks’ lists as well.

Here’s one pair for starters:

When did wire wrapped jewellery first become your modus operandi?

December 2010 is when I started playing with wire. By January, I was a die hard wire wrapper!  (Now that’s a speedy conversion, if ever there was one - especially with Christmas within that time scale!)

Wouldn't this  make a good Christmas present?  It’s never too early to consider them:  in my book anyway.

Why that creative process in particular? Would you like to expand - without it being a tutorial, as it were.  (That rider is added, because not only does Connie wire wrap her jewellery, but she shows folks how to do it as well.  There are several tutorials included in her shop for those who have the finger dexterity to have a go.  That, alas, is something I now lack, and I don‘t think I‘d be safe with the soldering that I imagine must be required during the process!)
 Well, it all started when I visited my mother in December  2010. She showed me her new hobby, which was beading (stringing beads onto a wire). I thought it was really cool, and when I got home I bought some basic beading supplies and started beading as well. I started searching the internet for "jewelry making" tutorials, and came across wire wrapping. To me, it looked MUCH more challenging than just stringing beads, so I decided I wanted to do the harder and more challenging craft, and on that day I became a wire wrapper :)  (That sounds like some folks I‘ve come across:  given a choice between a molehill, or a mountain - guess which one many will almost always follow?)

Answering the obvious need for a challenge, how about this little example?

If you were not already a wire wrapper, do you feel there is another art form you might consider that would give you the same degree of achievement?  If so, what would it be?

I think I would do well with polymer clay and metal clay if I had the time to learn something new (which I don't).

Do you attend craft fairs, as well as sell on Etsy - and which selling method do you prefer?
I live in a very small Georgia town that doesn't have craft fairs and things like that, so sadly I don't get to do that. All of my jewelry creations are online in my Etsy store. Selling online works for me because I can do it at my own pace, in my own time. I work full time as an account manager, so I don't have any time whatsoever during normal work daylight hours to devote to my craft and my Etsy store.

Perhaps, Connie won’t need that outlet - with this example to show for her endeavours in the time she currently has available to her.

 Next time, I’ll concentrate on her equally lovely pendants, but in the meantime, why not visit her shop at

    www.Etsy.com/shop/FashionWire  or Twitter:  @wire wrapping
                     Connie also has a Blog:  http://connietescar.blog.com.

See you all soon - either with another BESTeam feature for you to enjoy, or at www.ColdhamCuddliecalling.blogspot.com with another toy story for you to follow.  Isobel