I am so proud to introduce to you a wonderful creative engineer living in the beautiful city of Cluj Napoca Romania. In the Etsy community people know her as Lili!
Inspired by her designs I was creating a gift tag with some gorgeous earrings on it!
Let's talk jewelry....
Please introduce your self....
Hi! I'm Irina,but maybe you know me as Lili from my blog and on the etsy community. As I like to say I am a creative engineer. I finished Technical University in 2010 and now I work as an Engineer full -time. In the time I have left, I work on my hobby ( that is trying to make it more then a hobby) and still try to have a social life. (haha) I adore jewelry, I love them since I was little, I guess. In my personal jewelries you can find the prototype of many collection ( the first necklace made from wood, the first hearts and also some other prototypes that didn't become collections yet) and also love the antiques.
I am over exited when there is another fair in town.One of my secrets is that sometimes I shop from there and re-use that jewelry with a d different purpose. I believe in constructive criticism and keeping your mind open. You never know what you may find!
Why jewelry and what is your inspiration?
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Why jewelry? Because some years ago I found a book full of patterns for jewelries ( that's exaggerated- it was a tiny book with 20 pages where they showed you how to string beads and make some simple patterns). And after that I searched some supplies and started searching more and more on the internet. One lead to another and here I am :) I recently started to experiment and it's turning out great.
Can't wait for the summer to put in action some other ideas, but until then I have other collections to finish.
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Now about my inspiration .... can I say everything? Well I have moments when I see something and I have a revelation, but most of the time it all starts with an idea. And for 2-3 weeks I just search about, and look for materials and techniques and make a little documentation. After that I feel I have enough ideas to start making the collection. That's how it works for me.
How much time do you spend on one design, and how does your design corner look like?
I don't usually have designs. I only make small sketches when I am not quite sure if it will turn out great , but most of times I just start making it the way I see it in my mind. But I do make notes with the ideas I have. My collections are based on post-its full of ideas and small sketches
( engineer style) I have a very odd way of working. It is possible that at one point I'm out of ideas. And a few weeks (or days, it depends) I just start working day and night. (Literally come from work , start making jewelry, and in the weekends I don't leave my post for anything... well almost anything.... I do eat from time to time. It's a bit hectic, but it works because afterwards I have a new collection ( 20-30 items or more) and after that it's time to make pictures, write descriptions and promote.
My design corner is... well my bedroom. There I have boxes and bags filled with beads, fabrics, feathers, gift bags and other stuff. I also have a tiny closet with 2 full drawers. Usually when I work I surround myself with all the materials and start work. It gives me a great perspective on the colors, fabrics, and textures.
I visualize everything better. And it's also great that I have my bed there, because I can just crawl in it when I am too tired or feel that I had enough for the day. As I said before it's a bit of madness, but I love every part of it.
How do you stay on top of the game when it comes to marketing and promoting your creations?
I have to admit I am still a newbie in this area. Now I read a lot of articles about it and all kind of things. I have, besides my etsy shop, a blog where I talk about this journey. I try to be as active as I can, by commenting on related blogs and getting involved in the talks on the forum. That's for the online part.In the office environment I just tell people what I do when it comes to it. My friends and family already know about it and sometimes they led people to me :) but as I said it's still a work in progress.
Where do you see your brand in 5 years?
Wow, 5 years.... Hopefully as a freelancer, and doing nothing more than just designing and crafting. And who knows maybe I'll start a family, and I think it will be good to be there all the time. That is the kind of life I want to have, nice, quiet with a lot of crafting and also travelling and being there for the people I care a bout.
Check out her blog!
http://23lili.blogspot.co.nz/
Etsy shop!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/23lili
Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lilis-23/147748872006962
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Thank you so much Lili for taking part in this interview. It was a pleasure to introduce your shop!
If you need your products illustrated feel free to contact me!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BaleaRaitzART
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