Interview with Zlanarama

Here's another interview, this time we're hosting Betsi Goutal of Zlanarama.

MFT: Where do you get your ideas - and beads! - for your original pieces?

Z: Basically, there are two steps I tend to follow; refreshing my memory
about all the different techniques for jewelry making I've learned or
thought of on my own, and then getting inspired. I keep a notebook where
I write down general ideas of all the ways I can put together a given
type of jewelry. I've learned a lot from craftster.org and from the
projects section of www.rings-things.com, where I buy my components. For
inspiration, I have a folder on my computer where I save images of
jewelry. Most of them are from other indie designers, like dollyday and
milkbell. I find the images on livejournal and eBay mostly. Don't get me
wrong, I don't keep these images to rip off other designers; I just like
to look at the colors, and designs and just let my mind wander and get
into a creative, jewelry-designing state. Other times, I'll just dive in
looking through my bead stash to get inspired.

Which I guess brings me to your other question of where I get my beads.
I get my beads a lot of different places really - you'd be surprised how
many stores carry cute plastic beads in kits or small bags, aimed at
little girls. Mainly though, I get my beads from eBay and from craft
stores. Most of the vintage '80s charms I work with come from eBay - I
buy them in big lots and take them off their clippies. One of these days
I'm going to sell off the ones that don't really work for me as jewelry
components. They're considered collectible these days, which makes me
feel pretty old - I had these as a kid! My other biggest eBay score was
a large wholesale-style lot of party favor necklaces and bracelets. I
seriously jumped out of my chair cheering and hugging my boyfriend when
I one that one. I'd seen necklaces like them at the local party store
for a dollar each and managed to get them for about 15¢ each! As for
craft stores, I buy craft beads in the big variety packs, as big as I
can find. I also look for craft kits with lots or really bright colored
beads. I still love bright, sparkly, plastic beads. My taste in jewelry
really just never grew up.

MFT: Do you make all your own jewelry, then?

Z: The majority of the jewelry on the zlanarama site is handmade by me,
yes. There are some items that are bought from wholesalers that caught
my eye, and I just couldn't resist. I do make certain any mass-produced
product that's offered on the site meets the same standard of both
cuteness and sturdy construction as the original designs.

MFT: Do you have any favorite jewelry-making tools?

Z: Round-nosed pliers have made working with eyepins a dream! I believe it was this page on Connie Fox's website that led me to realize how vital they are for closing off eyepins. I've also recently discovered J.B. Weld, an epoxy adhesive that I just love. Initially, I hesitated to try it as it seemed complicated to mix the two parts, but it's really pretty straightforward and the bond it creates just can't be beat. I need to glue slick surfaces together, like rhinestones to metal, and it's hard to find a glue that'll handle the job well enough to hold up to the wear and tear on jewelry.

MFT: Where does your inspiration come from?

Z: Lots of different places, but to name some of the major ones: other jewelry designers, funky costume jewelry from the '60s and '70s, Japanese street fashion (especially the style called decora), toys of all kinds but especially those from the '80s like Rainbow Brite, little girls' plastic dress-up jewelry, the Lisa Frank stationery and party favors I remember form when I was a kid.

MFT: Turquoise or purple?

Z: This is a really tough choice for me, these are two of my very favorite colors, especially together. In fact, the past couple of month my hair has been purple and turquoise! I guess if I have to choose, I'd say purple, as I like any shade of purple at all, but sometimes turquoise is a bit too green.

MFT: Are you influenced by any other designers?

Z: Definitely. For high-end designers, I love the work of Tarina Tarantino and Steven Shein. Indie designers I admire include Kris from Luster Studios, Lindsay from Kid Pirate (though these days she's focused on her graphic design, and not jewelry), and the girls behind Starshine Candy.

MFT: Do you snack while you work?
Z: A little - only while I'm doing work that's computer related, so if I get greasy snack-fingers on anything, it's just my keyboard or mouse.

MFT: Have you read any good books recently?

Z: For fiction, I just finished Split Heirs which I found hilarious in a wacky, parody, dark humur kind of way. Really engagingly written, but a quick read. For non-fiction I just read Confessions of an Organized Homemaker. The author totally gets how crazed and messy a house can get, and doesn't come off as judgemental about it. I've been using the advice in it to get both my home and myself organized and more productive.

MFT: How do you design your pieces?

Z: Randomly. No really! About half my designs come to me out of the blue. I think my brain is always thinking about design possibilities, at least on some level, so new concepts will just bubble out of me at the strangest moments.

MFT: What are your other hobbies besides crafting?

Z: Gosh, something not crafty? I'm not sure I'm wired that way. Like a lot of crafters, I was raised by a creative mother who was always giving my siblings and I one craft project or another to keep us entertained. And was always making things herself, for that matter. It was a really creative atmosphere and I think most of my hobbies are creative in one way or another. I guess the one non-crafty hobby I have is gaming, though. I love games; board games, card games, computer games. I have a whole bookshelf devoted to board games!