Jessica Hall's company
Bluebird Designs does a great line in enamel jewellery using recycled silver. I remember how vibrant and delectable her designs were when I visited her stall at the
Renegade Craft Fair late last year in London. She had come a long way for that - because home and studio is in Incline Village, Nevada!
Before she opened Bluebird Designs she took courses in jewellery-making in North Seattle, Hawaii and San Francisco. Her "original bird" was made at a weekend enamel workshop in Hawaii - and from then on she was hooked.
Jessica has always been conscious of recycling and buys her recycled silver from
Hoover and Strong.
How does a woman working alone manage to balance the time-consuming demands of both the creative work and the joyless admin? Jessica says she's learnt to pay heed to the moments when the creative juices are flowing freely. But it's clear the business side weighs heavily.
"I'd have to say it's a constant juggle ....there are days I just want to sit and cry and pull out my hair in frustration and exhaustion....but I realize how lucky I am to have found such a passion in life and have it be my career as well".
It is a source of admiration to me the way Jessica, and so many of her colleagues in the business, run their businesses single-handedly, battling with the bureaucracy and yet still turning out imaginative works of art.
Jessica has promised herself a sketchbook for her nightstand (bedside table for we Brits) so that the ideas that seem so often to come to her in her dreams can be quickly jotted down. Jessica's friends - please note!
Although Bluebird Designs produces a variety of enamelled animals, Jessica's best seller is her "Signature" bird.
She's experimenting with various avenues for sales purposes but has an Etsy shop, her own portfolio website, sells through some retail outlets and makes a point of appearing at markets and fairs.
You can sign up to Jessica's newsletter at the bottom of her home page right here
http://www.bluebirddesigns.com/
