If you had a nickel for every time you read that an etsy seller "has been making things as long as they remember", you'd probably have enough to buy at least a pair of earrings, maybe a necklace.
Rhymes with Luck came about because I made some costume earrings for a friend, and then people liked them, so I made more. I was getting kind of bored with assembling parts that other people made, and lucky for me, I met the lovely and generous Melissa of Siren Jewels at the bus stop while we were seeing our kids off to school. Melissa is an amazing silversmith, and offered to teach me anything/everything she knows, and she's been stuck with me since. I have someone to bounce ideas around with, drink wine with after the work day is done, and sometimes we even make it to the gym together.
This year I made a ring for a friend who had lost a cherished pet; a modern take on Victorian mourning jewelry, that included names and dates and hair. I really hope to make more of this kind of custom work.