Fredastore

I opened "FRED: a store..." in 1995 as a retail gift shop in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, as the fulfillment of a lifelong dream to own my own business. It was a tough decision to close the retail operation in 1997, but the urge to create (compulsion?) continues and I have designed many styles of original costume jewelry and gift items for sale through other venues since then.

I now pursue my craft from the 3rd floor loft of my century home in the old "Corktown" neighbourhood of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and my workspace can only be described as "controlled chaos". This would probably surprise a lot of people because I am generally thought to be quite organized. I guess my creative side just needs to run wild! Operations are overseen and managed by my helper-kitties, Nelson and Emma.

Combining unexpected and disparate colours, textures and materials in a 3-dimensional, wearable piece of art provides immense satisfaction, and endless opportunity. I think of the whole world as my craft store, so anything is fair game for my creative projects!

Etsy is a whole new world for me, and an exciting opportunity to share my design sensibilities with a wide audience. I enjoy helping others find 'just the right thing' to satisfy their jewelry desires and a large proportion of my work is custom, which is as individual as my customers!