Short & Sweet
Ever since I was little, I've loved to make things with my hands. This started out as drawings and paintings, and then lead to majoring in Graphic Design in college. After a few years in the real world, my husband and I (and our cat, Yoshimi) packed up and moved to Portland to be surrounded by music, nature, and amazingly creative people.
The Pacific Northwest immediately began to inspire my artwork. I started creating collage work with found papers & botanical drawings under the name A Tea Leaf. I also got interested in the idea of making my art/designs wearable and began learning about jewelry making. I found that jewelry allowed me to explore art from a whole new perspective. I was addicted!
Today, A Tea Leaf jewelry is still inspired by nature and exploring the Pacific Northwest as well as vintage touches. It all happens from A Tea Leaf HQ (my home studio).
Q & A
Who are you and what do you do?
A Tea Leaf is modern jewelry. My latest line is a set of necklaces and earrings that I create with laser-cut geometric brass designs. I'm also inspired by taking vintage beads and combining them with my hand-drawn illustrations to make necklaces and earrings with a modern twist.
What do your customers love most about your products?
A great thing about A Tea Leaf is that I'm able to make modern jewelry really affordable (and giftable) for people. I do a ton of research about current trends and have a huge variety of laser-cut pieces (geometric shapes, ginkgo leaves, etc.) so there's something for everybody.
Any new exciting news you'd like to share with our readers?
One of my illustrations is going to be featured on the set of the new HBO show 'Big Little Lies' (starring Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, and Adam Scott)!
What do you love most about craft show vending?
I love being out there meeting new people and learning about them up close and personal. I'm on the shy side so vending at shows gives me the opportunity to meet new people that I normally wouldn't. It's awesome to see people getting excited about jewelry the same way I do!
