Tell us a bit about yourself name, location, affiliations, personal stuff.

My name is Annie. I'm 26 years old and I live and work in Baltimore City (known to us locals as Charm City) with my boyfriend of six years and two darling and hilarious pitt bulls. I grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and studied Jewelry and Metalsmithing at Towson University located in the Baltimore suburbs. After graduating in 2005, I decided to stick around town. I'm also a proud member of the Charm City Craft Mafia!

Apart from creating things, what do you do?

I'm a full-time jeweler, but when I'm not making jewelry, you can find me knitting or reading. This season, I'm trying my hand at gardening from seed and learning how to assemble bento box lunches. I love to travel or just cozy up on the couch with a movie or an entire season of LOST, take the dogs out for long, long walks, eat croissants and drink my all time favorite beverage- coffee!

What first made you want to become an artist?

I've been making things since I was a wee one, but never thought that this made me an artist. I decided to take art classes in college because it was simply the only thing that made me happy. I stumbled into a jewelry class one day and the rest is history. Probably the point which I can say I made a definitive DECISION to become an artist is when I quit my cubicle job in June 2007 to pursue my jewelry-making dreams and never ever looked back. YEAH!!

Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.

This is something I'm constantly trying to understand about myself. I'm not really sure how it all happens. I think it usually starts with an inspiration image, object, or idea- maybe a clipping from a magazine, a pattern seen outside, a person, or a conversation. This inspiration will evoke the beginnings of a jewelry piece. I'm not much of a sketcher, so these ideas usually get transformed to metal right away. I then continue to work in metal until I have a finished piece that I'm satisfied with. There is not so much planning involved- it's more play than planning :) One thing I always try to remember is to have fun and never take myself too seriously!

What handmade possession do you most cherish?

I always acquire at least one handmade object at every show I do. My favorite so far is a piece by Jessica Tamson of Faux Taxidermy- A blinged out pink bird perched atop a silver log adorned with leaves and peanuts. . . you have to see it!

Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.

books
1. Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
2. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
3. The Broom of the System - David Foster Wallace
4. East of Eden- John Steinbeck
5. Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger

movies
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. Rushmore
3. Tied- Annie Hall and Manhattan
4. Welcome to the Dollhouse
5. Ghostworld

BONUS: ok. this is not a movie. but I have to say it- LOST. I'm a fan. a big fan. . .

songs/musical groups
1. Jeff Buckley
2. the Juno Soundtrack
3. Cansei de Ser Sexy
4. the entire August and Everything After album - Counting Crows
5. Heart of Gold- Neil Young

websites
1. the onion
2. my paper crane blog
3. recycled love - my favorite local charity
4. this american life
5. the wardrobe remix group on flickr

What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?

I know it's been said time and time again, but I'll say it once more: relist and renew often!
Take GREAT photos, ship quickly, communicate with your clients, participate in the forums, get to know your Etsy peeps- both buyers and sellers. Everyone here is SO NICE! spread the Etsy gospel. And most of all- Love your work (the objects and the act) and be yourself!

What are your favorite features on Etsy?  What new features would you like to see?

I've had serious obsessions with many of the features (hello, time machine 2!), but right now, my favorite is shop local. It's makes me so happy to see, in one place, all the people in my very own community who are hand makers.
One feature I i would love to see in the future is a "sign up for my mailing list/newsletter" option- a way for me to collect e-mail addresses or usernames so that I can keep in touch with my clients and anyone who might be interested in hearing about what I'm up to in the way of new work, sales, upcoming shows, etc.

How do you promote your work?

I participate in as many shows, festivals, and fairs as I possibly can, advertise in some venues such as magazines and blogs (when my budget says I can), leave my promotional materials EVERYWHERE I go, and my very favorite thing to do- maintain my own blog.

In ten years I'd like to be...

Still running my own little jewelry studio. - only in California. I love California. Oh. And I'd like to have a whole pack of pit bulls running around this little piece of California land with me.