Desert Rain Jewelry's Workspace

Hi! I'm Diana of drbeads.etsy.com also known as Desert Rain Beaded Jewelry and this is my workspace in a nutshell: a computer desk from Ikea and lots of plastic containers all neatly labeled and stacked for maximum organization. When I'm finished with a creation I put in in a plastic bag, label it with all pertinent information and place in the bins way on top of the desk.

This is where it all starts - on a little placemat to keep the beads from rolling around. My inspiration usually comes from the stones themselves which talk to me - really! The stones are stored in bins on the first shelf, all labeled and priced and sorted by shape. It's truly amazing but I remember every single item I own! Seems to be the only thing I remember these days! I pretty much like to make everything and try new things on a regular basis. Repetition bores me and I am not the kind of person that could make the same item 100 times. I'm a Gemini so variety is important!

I do have some awesome books that I look at for inspiration or use as learning tools but I always try to put my own twist on things and be as original and creative as possible. I started by doing strung jewelry and I've graduated into wire-wrapping, next I would like to learn to solder and hammer.

I use the keyboard shelf to stash the most recently bought goodies. To me, there's nothing more fun or exciting than going bead shopping. It's like sensory overload! There's so much to choose from and ideas swirl madly in my head and then I get home and forget most of it! So, now I keep a little notebook and write down all my ideas but who knows if I ever will get to all of them...

My full time job is very analytical and logical and beading allows my creative, fun side to come out and play. I guess that's why I find making jewelry so fulfilling- I totally let go, get lost in what I'm doing, and create something unique and beautiful. And when that special person comes along that finds a piece as beautiful as I do, I happily wrap it in a silver gift box, bid it goodbye, and send it along with wishes for a happy life in a new home. There's something undescribable in knowing that someone, somewhere in the world, is lovingly touching and wearing something that I created.