Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexis Centeno.
Alexis, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started lux + luz in 2014 after graduating from college with a fine art degree. I was creating sculptures out of plants at the time. My educational background is rooted in mixed-media collage & installation so I loved the process of hunting and gathering, recreating elements found in nature and re-contextualizing those components into a thoughtfully curated composition.
After I graduated, I began to pick up and travel a lot and found bliss in learning about other cultures and landscapes which inspired me to create a lifestyle where I could tap in and out of those resources as often as possible. My car was (is) always full of plants, sticks, rocks, flowers, chicken wire, and patina-soaked metal from all of my ongoing projects. My database of materials was becoming incredibly difficult to manage, and my thirst for a connection to the earth offered me with a different solution: small-scale creation.
I walked into a bead shop in Austin and was blown away by their selection of trinkets, treasures and creative bounty. It was in that moment things clicked. My whole creative process could translate into wearable art, making small creative decisions, on a more micro level. This opened up a whole realm of the jewelry industry for me, from teaching workshops, creative design, mixed-media, and artisanal design principles to working at international gem conventions handling some of the most exquisite antique jewelry collections in the states.
I started working at that bead shop full time and found my heart opening from the balance of creative fulfillment, and facilitating other artist’s creative visions hands on.
After sinking into the bead store for a few years and finding the aesthetic that felt intrinsically me, I decided to take flight again and fuel my business from the source- the earth. I traveled to Moab, Utah and spent most of the Summer there under the sun, creating, hiking, swimming, collecting, and being inspired by the red rocks and desert landscape where I had no choice but to create abundance within my artistic flow. It was during this exchange and reciprocation between authentic creation and sustainability that turned lux + luz into my vessel of expression and profession.
Lux + luz grows up with me as I do. We’re constantly changing and shapeshifting, but committed to a life rooted in expression, love, creation, and giving back. As our Summer collection is wrapping up, I am getting ready to take off to Africa, where I will be working with women in Pader, Uganda to teach them designs I have created using paper beads which will generate income for their village.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nothing good comes easy. I struggled with the idea of hobby vs. profession. Can something that brings me joy sustain me professionally? If I’m working so hard to propagate my business, will I lose my joy? In the beginning, I used to struggle with the actual business parts of lux + luz.
i.e. knowing my worth and charging for things accordingly, creating a workflow and sticking to my practices. Some of these things I’ve learned the hard way, but the fun part about growing my business is learning along the way which practices feel good for me and which are not in line with the ultimate vision of lux + luz.
Please tell us about Lux + Luz.
Lux + luz is medicinal adornment. I create jewelry from found objects, vintage parts + pieces, natural stones, bones, and flora. All of my pieces are handmade and one-of-a-kind & mini-assemblage compositions. I transpose materials and curate them into the aesthetic of mixed metals, rust, and restoration. These pieces are totems that remind us who we are, who we were, and who we want to be. They are tangible tickets to reconnecting with our internal power, conduits of expression, empowerment, and non-verbal communication. They are actualized in the act of adornment and created with positive intention from my heart to yours.
What makes me the most proud as a company is seeing my pieces find homes. When I am creating, I imagine an archetype, a specific person or power, and infuse each piece with that energy. It fills me with gratitude when someone connects with those intentions and embodies the spirit that it has been created with.
What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
What makes me the most proud as a company is seeing my pieces find homes. When I am creating, I imagine an archetype, a specific person or power, and infuse each piece with that energy. It fills me with gratitude when someone connects with those intentions and embodies the spirit that it has been created with.
Contact Info:
- Email: luxandluz@gmail.com
- Instagram: @luxandluz
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