Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Berry.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve loved jewelry for as long as I can remember. I’ve always sought out unique jewelry for myself, and along the way I discovered silversmithing. I knew immediately that I wanted to learn how to make my own jewelry like that. I even bought a lot of the supplies I would need, but for a long time I was either too busy or too scared to try. It took me years to build up the courage to give it a try. Just before Christmas in 2017, I finally set up all my supplies and got to work. I loved it from the moment I started, but it took a long time to build my skills. I’m completely self-taught, so I’ve spent a lot of time reading, watching videos, and doing a lot of trial and error. Eventually, I got to a point that I felt confident and happy with my skills and my jewelry. I was receiving compliments from people and even some offers to purchase my work. At that time, I had a lot of my handmade jewelry just sitting around. It was a lot more than I could wear on a regular basis. It was kind of sad that I’d put so much work into these pieces, and they weren’t being worn or loved. I decided to open up an Etsy shop to try to sell some of my work. My hopes were that I could just make enough to help pay for the expensive supplies that I needed.
For a long time, I was pretty casual about my shop. I’m a stay-at-home mom to a 13 years old and a three years old, so my time can be pretty consumed with all the things that go along with taking care of a family. The longer I’ve been making jewelry and honing my skills, the more serious I’ve become about selling my work. I’m proud of the things I make, and I want them to go out into the world and help make someone happy. I love hearing from my customers when they receive their jewelry and seeing how happy it makes them. It has inspired me to really take on all of the aspects of owning a small business, not just the fun-creating part. That’s really helped my business grow, along with helping to fund the tools and supplies I need to continue to advance my skills. I feel like my business is still in its toddler phase, but I’m very excited about its growth. I’m definitely excited to continue making jewelry and learning new skills. I can’t wait to see where it all goes from here.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I’ve had some struggles along the way. Since I’m self-taught, I feel like I had to spend a lot of time just experimenting and trying to figure out the easiest way to do things. I’ve melted or broken a lot of jewelry in the process. But even though it’s frustrating at times, I enjoy teaching myself new things.
Tools and supplies are also expensive. Buying the sheets of sterling silver that I need to make jewelry can be stressful. It’s sold at what the market price is, so you can’t really hunt for “a good deal”. I’ve learned to watch the commodity market to see where silver is before I make a big order. It’s always a little disappointing when my silver orders come in though. You feel like you spend so much money and then it all fits in a small box.
There are also the struggles that I think most small business owners have. You have to be more than just the artist. You have to handle all of the business aspects. It can feel like it’s completely consuming all of your time some days.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I make jewelry using sterling silver and stones. I form, solder, and finish all of my pieces by hand. I love incorporating interesting stones into my work. I’ve loved rocks and stone collections since I was a child, so naturally I wanted to use them in my jewelry. In the past year, I bought a hydraulic press. With that, I can press silver into antique or vintage impression dies. Those give me a 3-dimensional silver impression that I can use in my own work. Most of these designs are antiques from the early 1900s. I love historical stuff, and I love that I can incorporate that into my work too.
I don’t have a particular piece that I’m most proud of. Honestly, I’m just really proud that I’ve been able to learn these skills and use them to make beautiful things.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
I think the most important lesson that I’ve learned is to be patient with myself. Learning a new skill is hard, and there are a lot of frustrating moments. I’ve had to remind myself that I’m not going to get it perfect the first time.
I’ve also learned to be brave about sharing my work. I’m naturally an introverted person, so it’s really scary to put my work out there for everyone to judge.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/darkmothstudio
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darkmothstudio/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darkmothstudio/
