Adorn Jewelry

Meet Amy Mueller of Adorn Jewelry, our featured designer for November What kind of products do you create and where can people find them? I create contemporary silver jewelry:  pendants, earrings, and rings. You can shop for Adorn Jewelry online at adornjewelry.etsy.com. The list of shops that carry my line can be found in my profile there. What inspired you to start designing? I had a collection of antique photographs and I wanted some way to preserve and display them. A new twist on the locket thus emerged.

What's your background and have you always been creative?  Are there other artistic endeavors you're involved in? I was trained in jewelry production while working part-time in college and was so inspired that I began taking Metals classes at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I don’t know if I have always been creative; how does one gauge that?
I love sewing, crochet, photography, gardening, letterpress and anything else that involves using my hands. 

Where do you get your ideas for your designs? You never know when inspiration will strike so it is always good to have a camera nearby. Nature inspires most of my designs and luckily for me is very forthcoming.

What equipment do you use to create your jewelry?  Do you make all of your pieces yourself? Scissors, camera, pliers, drill press, hammer, punches, saw, oven, heat gun and the list goes on. All of my pieces are handmade by me.

How you see expanding your line in the near future?  The same Avian designs that you find in my resin pendants will be available as rings in the next couple months.
 
Whose work do you admire? There are so many talented artists and designers out there. A few that I am presently smitten with are Abby Glassenberg of While She Naps, Whitney Smith, and Jessica Rosenkrantz of Nervous System.

What advice would you offer new designers entering the market? Find your niche for yourself and create a brand around it.  Don’t do what everyone else is doing just because it is trendy or popular.
If your art is wearable, wear it and give it to friends to wear. And always have business cards on hand. At all times.

What is your vision for your business and where would you like to be in five years? I am open to wherever my business may take me but I want to remain a small, independently owned business so that I still have the time and energy to commit to my massage and teaching career. I would like to develop my own web page and I see my wholesale business growing as I pick up more galleries and boutiques in the future.

Any other area of fashion you'd like to delve into? Clothing. I love to make my own clothes; it gives me a great deal of satisfaction to wear something that I have created. I bought a sewing machine years ago and finally bought myself a serger last year. I also really enjoy screenprinting and am interested in printing my own fabric.

What current trend would you like to see go away? Scrabble tile pendants. And those dresses with a tight band around the thighs; they make everyone look like they are wearing a potato sack.

If you could have one item, new or vintage, what would it be?  Old wooden floor-to-ceiling bookshelves with a rolling ladder.

What item did you wear to shreds growing up?  I put holes in my dad’s Naval academy sweatshirt.

Which designer(s) has really inspired you?  I don’t typically turn to individual designers for inspiration but I love to page through magazines and blogs to feed my desire to create. Etsy is a great place to go to feel inspired. 

Archive of Past Featured Designers:
Miyuki Ott - August 2007
Seed Clothing - September 2007
Moxie & Oliver - October 2007
MishMash - November 2007
Tarah Prater Designs - December 2007
Effie's Heart - January 2008
Organik - February 2008
Red Delicious - March 2008
Marlo M Jewelry - April 2008
Ugly Baby - May 2008
Like a Rock Star - June 2008
Da-a tis - July 2008
Birna Jewelry - August 2008
Lucia Apparel - September 2008
Revival Ink - October 2008