From the time I was a child, I've been fascinated by color combination, abstract designs and different textures. At the age of about 10 years old I started hand sewing clothes for my Barbies, and building houses for them with cardboard boxes. I would then make furniture with cardboard also, and use scraps of fabric to make covering. I then picked up crochet, embroidery, and knitting. My father was the one who taught me the basics of knitting, and he soon bought me a small sewing machine, and I then started using it to make clothes for my Barbies, instead of hand sewing them. After that, my dreams of having my own business, doing some type of design, whether it be clothing design, interior design, or graphic design...I didn't care, as long as I could design something, started! Once I got into my teens, I started making all of my clothes, but I would never follow the patterns exactly...I would change pieces up to be how I wanted it. I started sewing for other people, also. I did that for awhile until I had kids to take care of, so I stopped sewing completely. In 2011, I started having some financial problems, and was trying to think of a way to bring in some extra money, without having to work a second job, because the one that I had was exhausting enough by itself. I thought about sewing, but really couldn't get back into that, so I had to think of something else...something that I would enjoy doing. One day I discovered Facebook and started seeing these women selling handmade jewelry, and I said to myself..."I wonder if I can do that jewelry"? I then started researching the techniques and the components, started ordering some supplies, and started out making earrings. I would take them to work to show my friends what I was doing, and they started buying them from me. A couple of months later, I went out of work, on disability, and started doing jewelry full-time. I graduated from earrings, to bracelets, and then necklaces, and I've been handcrafting jewelry since then. I really didn't know how to pinpoint the style of my jewelry, so I called it "eclectic", and I don't like jewelry with a lot of clutter to it! I feel that, the jewelry should be comfortable for a person to wear...meaning once they put it on, you shouldn't have to keep moving parts of it back in place...it should fall right into place...chic streamlined jewelry. That's where I came up with my business name ECLECTIC CHIC JEWELRY DESIGNS...handcrafted jewelry with an eclectic, contemporary, and vintage mix! I love the ultra modern look in my jewelry, but I also LOVE vintage beads, and vintage metals, so I try to incorporate the "then" and "now" in my jewelry, to come up with a different look.