Leslie Payne
Art Clay Senior Instructor

I do not want to say my dream job just fell into my lap, but MY DREAM JOB JUST FELL INTO MY LAP!

I have always enjoyed creating jewelry, well pretty things of any sort. Starting as a preteen with friendship bracelets and hair wraps with embroidery thread. Then onto sculpting with Fimo clay, beads, incense burners, pendants, whatever the whim. When I hit 15 it was jewelry, SILVER jewelry. My first design was a toe anklet combo. It was beautiful! Too bad I did not have Etsy 30 years ago!

Of course, life happened. My son was born, then work work work. I got into the medical field beacuse that's where the money is, right? I put in a couple of decades working my fingers to the bone, as they say and developed some stress related health issues. Yeah, it was time to slow down.

Shortly after that revelation, I met a wonderful person that made her own silver jewelry AND she wanted to show me how! I was out of my mind excited. It came back so easy, like I had never stopped. That creative part of my brain woke up. I built up a nice supply of nice pieces and did a couple of shows. I never look back. Today I am as healthy and as happy as can be. I started this Etsy shop in 2019; so far, I am loving it! COVID has devastated so many of us in the event business. I plan to build my online presence in the future.

Do what makes you happy! There is a place in this world for people to use their joy in life to create an income to match the effort. to work your way there is the trick. Selling something to the masses often means recreating your work repeatedly. Keeping the "joy" requires effort. One must focus on the delight the item will bring the customer. Work smarter not harder; finding improved ways to cut cost, time and precious energy can be a thrill. Always find creative ways to improve on your work. Tweak little things that make your art unique and one of a kind and keep the creative juices flowing.