Moose Spotlight: Beautiful Jewelry Inspired by People and Places

THE JOURNEY TO CREATING JEWELRY

This is jewelry artist Siobhan Kennedy from Grimshaw, Alberta, Canada. She  started making jewelry 10 years ago, and her amazing creations can be seen on Instagram @autumnjadestudio  💚

"I began creating jewelry because of my love of the stones," Siobhan said. She collected crystals, rocks, and gems way before she ever thought about making jewelry. She started her jewelry journey with wire wraps. To her, it quickly became an emotional outlet, and she even said it was almost meditative. As she kept making, and her business began growing, she discovered silversmithing!

When Siobhan was just getting started, it wasn't all rainbows and butterflies. She shared, "I once had a teacher tell me about a year after I started my business that I shouldn’t even bother coming to school if my goal was to run my business. That it would get me to the exact same place, nowhere. I hate to say it, but her disbelief in me really hindered me for years." 😢 

Well, look at how great she is now! 💚

Most of the time, firsts are unforgettable. For an artist, probably even more so. Siobhan remembered selling her first piece of jewelry on Facebook of all places! She said she was always posting her latest creations and one day had someone ask to purchase. ✨

About her beautiful brand name, Siobhan knew she wanted something sentimental, and something that wouldn’t limit her. She explained, "Autumn Jade was the obvious choice because it fully and authentically represented me. It’s actually my middle name. Autumn is also my favourite season, Jade is a family name and represents one of my favourite people - my Papa!" Studio was added in as to not limit herself.

Let's check out some of Siobhan's stunning creations! 

ARTIST'S DESIGN STYLE

Creating magical jewelry for 10 years now, Siobhan recalled her very first AHA! moment - it was when she finally got setting tiny cabochons under her belt. She shared, "it was something I struggled with for a long time when I began silver smithing, I love working with smaller stones so it was very important to get that perfected. As soon as I did I felt like wow I can really do this whole jewelry business thing!" 💚

THE DESIGN PROCESS

"My design process isn’t much of a process," Siobhan said when asked to describe how she creates. She explained that it really revolves around the stones and seasons. The seasons usually inspire her color pallet, and she tries to pick the gemstones with meanings that could really help or support people during that time. Sometimes she does pick stones purely because she is drawn to them.

Siobhan's description of her design style is very clean, classic, and timeless. She likes the majority of her pieces to be able to be paired together to tell the customers' story. Lately, she has been working on doing more detailed pieces like statement rings.

JEWELRY DESIGN TIPS, TRICKS, AND HANDY TECHNIQUES

What's one design tip you one to share with your fellow artists?

"The most important design tip I have is that it’s okay to pull inspiration from things, but it is necessary for you to put your own spin on it. Imitation will always limit and negatively impact you as an artist. Believe in yourself and your designs and just make what you love."

One piece of technical advice on creating.

 

"Practice, practice, practice. If you don’t feel it is 160%, scrap it and restart."

Any words of encouragement or tips to those who are starting out in the world of jewelry-making?

"Always believe in yourself, especially when others don’t. Only you have the ability to make your dreams come true, and letting others influence your beliefs is not helpful. Failure is one of the quickest ways to success. We learn so much more through our failures and mistakes. So have a little more confidence in YOU!"

Lastly, here's her message to the universe: 

Follow Siobhan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/autumnjadestudio/ 

Check out her website: https://www.autumnjadestudio.com/

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