I started making jewelry when I was a child, just for myself or to give as gifts. As an adult I lived in Florida for a while and discovered a great bead store in my town and fell in love with crystal beads and Czech glass. My friends and I would get together in the evenings and make jewelry and teach each other techniques, it was so much fun.

In 2008 I moved to New Jersey and my sister was having a fund raiser so I volunteered to sell my jewelry to help raise funds. I got a lot of positive feedback so I decided to open an Etsy store and also participate in craft shows. My full-time job is very technical and making jewelry is my creative outlet. I make a lot of custom pieces of jewelry for women, which I love, because they have an idea for a piece of jewelry that they want to go with an outfit, or for a gift for someone and I can make their idea come to life. Many times they will just tell me the color that they want and that they need a pair of earrings or a necklace or bracelet and that I can design a piece for them, that is great fuel for my creativity. I can take into consideration their personality and style and come up with a piece that they really like.

Etsy gives me an outlet where I can be creative and earn money doing it. I would love to be able to do this full-time and one day I will.