It's Monday Maker Gen Rossouw from Jhoomka

Hi Gen and thanks for participating in the Monday Maker interview. 

I'd love to ask you just a few questions.

Firstly, do you come from a creative family?

Yes, I have a family of creatives, my mum makes quilts and my 3 aunties have all been very successful crafters.

How would you describe your work?

My earrings are funky ;)


Has your work changed since you started?

Yes, slowly and bit by bit I have tried new styles of earrings to make and improved the doilies heaps.

How did you start selling on Etsy?

I opened my Etsy store through joining  Brisstyle and talking to members. It seems to work for a lot of people so I thought to give it a go!

What inspires you?

Art, street art especially! 

Do you reduce or reuse as part of your creative process?

Yes I do! My earrings are from old tableclothes, reused and repurposed! They are eco-friendly :)

What is your work area like?

I have a small table set up at home.

Do you have a favourite thing to make?

Knitted beanies. There is an odd satisfaction that I get from knitting.

Where did the name Jhoomka come from?

Jhoomka means earrings in Nepalese and I recently spent a lot of time there and it seemed fitting and different.

Where do you see your creative journey taking you in the next 12 months?

I hope to get a small thriving business going as part of my creative journey as well as delving into different aspects of jewelry making such as wire work and making beads.

Do you have any advice for others trying to make it in the creative industry?

Persistence, patience and belief in your work.

Do you like to watch movies or listen to music while creating?

I watch movies when I make earrings or listen to blues music. Keeps the juices flowing :)

What is your favourite handmade object that you have bought?

A handmade bed spread from Cambodia. It must have taken hours for someone to make and it's so so gorgeous!

Where can we find you online?

https://www.facebook.com/Jhoomka

How long have you been a member of BrisStyle?

I joined only a few months ago.

And how did you find out about BrisStyle?

Through Facebook.

Why did you join?

I became a member to learn more about making my crafts into a business, how to do the markets and overall inspiration.

Why do you create Gen?

I can't sit still and it's a great way to release tension and stress

Thanks Gen and welcome to BrisStyle.

Anita

Go Go Green!!

Kermit thought it wasn't an easy colour to be, and I dare say the Wicked Witch of the West (and Shrek for that matter) probably agreed with him. However, the owl and the pussycat found it to be the perfect hue for a romantic ocean cruise, and 'Sam-I-am' thought it was good enough to eat - even if the meal in question did involve processed meat. Yes folks, this week we're talkin' green!

Lavender Scented Bird

By Edward and Lilly

In honor of the fourth colour on the spectrum of visible light, our BrisStyle members have put forth a verdant selection of handmade items so zesty fresh they are almost good enough to eat. Now, where's my runcible spoon...?

Paper Ephemera Earrings Lambsy
By Jellygnite


Girl's Bird Skirt
By Ogekko




50s Daydream - fabric covered button RING
By Ruby Red Studios


Vintage green floral top with doily - size 2-3 years
By Jetta's Nest


Lime Green Dream Clutch No.1
By Shelly Berelli

June Featured Members and Giveaways!

This month, please give a warm welcome to Lauren from Raspberry Pink and Sophie from Strat Designs, as they give us a sneak peak into their fabulous worlds of crafty goodness, and give away some of their wonderful handmade items to two lucky readers. To enter is simple - just leave us a comment at the bottom of this post. For more info (and to find out how to score an extra entry) read The Rules at the bottom of the post. Good luck everyone :)

Introducing BrisStyle member...


NAME: Sophie Straton - Ferrier
ETSY SHOP NAME: Strat Designs

1. Can you please describe the items you are giving away to one of our readers?

I'm seriously into felt balls this Autumn/Winter so I'm giving away two items using my new favourite matierial!


1) Cherry felt ball triple drop pendant, and
2) matching little cherry felt ball drop earrings.


2. How would you describe your work?

Colourful, stylish and fun.


3. How did your Etsy shop come into being?

A friend told me about the handmade expo. From their website I followed a link to the BrisStyle blog and from there...ETSY! And wow! That was such a mind blowing experience, I just read and read and looked and looked. I was totally hooked. I couldn't rest until I was signed up and listing stock.


4. Who or What inspires you?

My whole life has been involved with jewellery, antiques and collectables . I'm a very visual person, so beautiful things always get my attention and inspire me but overall it's colour that does it every time. The older I get, the more attracted I am to colour - I suspect I'll be one of those grannies with fuschia hair.. I find colour, like music, can really affect people's mood, and so I'm inspired to create pieces that bring "visual happiness". I enjoy architecture too, especially old buildings, and of course nature always has a wealth of inspiration in form and balance, colour and texture.


5. Do you ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ as part of your creative process? If yes, how is your art / craft eco-friendly?

At this stage only the felt balls have the potential to be made from recycled products, however I have a strong desire to bring in an element of vintage to my designs in the future - buttons and antique/vintage jewellery bits are things I'm actively collecting right now, so hopefully yes, in the future I'll at least have a section of my Etsy shop dedicated to recyled.


6. Can you describe your studio / work area?

My spare bedroom! Well it was once. Now it's totally taken over by my workspace and my long suffering husband has done a great job of building it in with workbenches and shelves. There's never enough room though is there? I've been eyeing off the garage for a while now..


7. What is your favourite thing in the shop at the moment?

Like I said - I'm very into my felt balls right now! This is my Autumn leaves felt ball lariat. You can wear it really long, or wrapped around twice, even three times. It's lightweight, cosy and textural and very colourful! Great for those dreary cold days ahead.


8. Do you have any other places that people can view your work?

I haven't made the leap into blog world yet, so other than my etsy shop the only site I have is my website www.stratdesigns.com

********

Introducing BrisStyle member...


NAME: Lauren Hillard
ETSY SHOP NAME: Raspberry Pink

1. Can you please describe the items you are giving away to one of our readers?

I’m giving away one of my gorgeous new Socrates the Sheep phone charms!

Socrates the Sheep likes to spend his days hanging around on your phone pondering the meaning of life, the universe, and your text messages.

2. How would you describe your work?

Colourful and cute. I love all things brightly coloured and gorgeously cute so they tend to be my favourite things to make. My characters are quite varied because most of them started as custom orders, just like these guys:

3. How did your Etsy shop come into being?

I discovered polymer clay early last year and in my research into all things clay, I stumbled onto Etsy and having already made far too many things to ever use myself, and still with so many ideas I wanted to try out, it seemed inevitable!


4. Who or What inspires you?

Everything inspires me. I have folders full of thousands of images that have inspired me and continue to do so. I find it hard going shopping because everything I see, my brain wants to translate into ‘clay’. As something to use to texture clay, store clay, shape clay, display clay, decorate clay, decorate with clay.. The list goes on!


5. Do you ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ as part of your creative process? If yes, how is your art / craft eco-friendly?

There is literally no wastage with polymer clay unlike other mediums. Single colours are stored and used in future projects, attractive leftover patterns are made into beads or incorporated into other projects, unattractive colours (I always end up with lots of strange shades of red for some reason?) and patterns or colour mixes become tools and texture plates.


6. Can you describe your studio / work area?

Messy. As much as I try to organize it, I have so many tools and colours and works-in-progress that I have a desk covered in clay, tools and findings, a box of findings on the couch arm, a bookshelf shelf (gotta love Ikea) that doubles as a semi-portable work area and boxes of stuff all over our unit!


7. What is your favourite thing in the shop at the moment?

I love everything glow in the dark. I keep forgetting to get photos of them glowing though!


8. Do you have any other places that people can view your work?

Blog and Clay Shop: http://raspberrypink.com.au
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/raspberrypink/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Brisbane-Australia/Raspberry-Pink/95765001207
Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenhillard
Workshops: http://www.tangledyarns.com.au/

Thank-you Lauren and Sophie!

The rules:

Simply leave a comment on this post to be in the running to win one of these two fabulous giveaways. Be sure to leave a way for us to contact you. If you don’t have a blog, please include your email address. Only one entry per person. You may enter twice if you mention this giveaway on your blog. If you choose to do this, please pop back after posting to your blog and include the url address to the post it was mentioned on here in the comments. This will count as your second entry. International folk are welcome to enter. BrisStyle members and their immediate families (ie: husbands/partners, dependent children, and their computer savvy pets) are excluded from entering all BrisStyle giveaways. A name will be randomly drawn on the 25th of this month and the winner will be announced on the blog on that same day.

Once again, the very best of luck to you all!

Anyone for tea and scones?

Is there anything more civilised than a spot of afternoon tea? Cupcakes, petite ribbon sandwiches, and definitely something with cream.

Delicious Cup Cakes

By Creative Artyfacts

And not forgetting the tea itself. Made in a pot, and served with teacups and saucers of course.

At BrisStyle we are all for a lovely get-together over some tasty nosh, and cheery conversation. Whether it's the ceremony of eating small things, the opportunity to do a little 'dressing up' (who doesn't love playing 'ladies'...he he...) or simply the enjoyment of good company, there's just something we all love about afternoon tea.

So in the spirit of these special small pleasures, we have put together a selection of afternoon-tea inspirations from some of our talented BrisStyle members. Bon appetite!

Mosaic OOAK serving plate

By MJ Mosaics

Diva Bags - gorgeous girly handbag
By Little Diva

Delicious - Cleopatra Necklace
By Epheriell Designs

petit chapeau
By SMboutique

Purple Lady Brooch
By Little Chrissy

Gidget goes Ga-Ga for BrisStyle!

It’s United Nations Day on the 24th of this month. It’s the International Year of the Potato this year, as declared by the United Nations. How does this relate to BrisStyle you may well ask? Well, it doesn’t really except for the fact that potatoes are a popular vegetable and most BrisStyle members likely eat them on a fairly regular basis. When I think of potatoes I think of chips. Hot chips. With fish. Yes, fish & chips on the beach! So this post will feature a selection of BrisStyle seller items that fit in with the theme of sunny days on the beach eating fish & chips. So you see, there is a link to potatoes after all that. Phew! Lucky my first thoughts were of chips and not mashed potatoes. That would be a tricky theme to work with…

Print - Teasing the Waves Original Artwork
by Elizas Art

Dazzling Board Shorts for your Little Surfie

by Ogekko

Surfers Paradise - Vintage button Earrings

by Ruby Red Studios

Julie Coquelicot (pretty pop) Hat

by SM Boutique

Little Portrait of a SURFER GIRL - Art Print

by Twinkle Star Art

Northern Waters Wolf Brooch

by RE-Read Designs

Haven’t seen any wolves on any of the beaches I frequent, but sure wish I did. They’d chase away those pesky Ibis birds that are so fond of rudely stealing my lunch!

Pink Sun Top

by Hot Fudge

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd

by Wicked Child Designs

I swear I saw our PM Kev on the beach recently. Or somebody who looked remarkably like him. He was wearing speedos. And it wasn’t pretty.

If you fancy purchasing any of the super items featured here, then simply click on the seller name to be transported to their Etsy shop. Best of all, in celebration of United Nations Day this month, if you purchase any of these items during October, a bucket load of good karma will be headed your way. That good karma will also extend to the purchase of any item from any BrisStyle member by the way. There’s plenty of good karma to go around! And chips! Would you like one? Ooops…too late. All gone.

Bringing ‘Bling’ to BrisVegas!

Step out in sparkling style with a bit of ‘bling’ from the BrisStyle team.

Sterling Silver Dragon's Back Chain
by Shazzabeth Creations
$100
This is a sterling silver chainmaille bracelet in the Dragonsback weave. It is a chunky, heavier weave with a lovely rounded dome shape running down the middle of the chain. The bracelet is fastened with a sterling silver toggle clasp. Not for the faint hearted, this beautiful bracelet is ideal for those who like their jewellery to make a statement.


Rainbow Swarovski Gold Pendant
by Marlier Designs
$28
This pendant has been made by me, using a rectangular shape frame, constructed from Artistic Non Tarnish Wire in Gold. I've used a rainbow colour combination of Swarovski Crystals this time, in 4 and 6mm. It gives a totally different look with the gold wire! Fast becoming one of my fave pieces!


Handcrafted, Rough with the Smooth, Sterling Silver Necklace
by Moore Taste
$118
This is a gorgeous and versatile Sterling Silver Necklace made from a combination of hammered and unhammered links, hence the rough and smooth name. All the links and the clasp have been made from Sterling Silver by me. Each link is shaped, soldered and then given a hammered finish if required.


Gold Blinger - Vintage Button Earrings
by Ruby Red Studios
$6.50
Shiny, pearly and simply irresistible these golden coloured acrylic buttons were just yearning to become earrings x x
...and here they are 1.5cm diameter and allergy free surgical steel posts and backs.


Natural Stone Beaded Anklets
by Kaylees Room
$15
I am really into the look of natural stone. There is something gorgeous and serene about it. Each bead is hand-wired with two spacers and then linked with jump rings and finished with a lobster clasp. These anklets will be sold individually. The colours in the photo are actually pretty true to life so you know what you will be receiving.


Vintage Silver and Yellow Layered Button Brooch
by EmBelISH
$5.00
This one-of-a-kind, all original, Silver and Yellow Brooch was made using 3 vintage buttons on a metal bar pin back. The base is a large silver vintage button, topped with an opaque yellow button and finished with a pale yellow and glitter feature button. A great way to transform your look!


Vintage Button Earrings Pink Ice
by Jellygnite
$14.00
These sweet button earrings reminded me of pink coconut ice - mmmm yum! The buttons are a pearly pretty pink - so girly! They are genuine vintage buttons from my Aunty's collection. The buttons are attached to silver-toned earrings using silver wire.