This month, in order to kick off the recurring Featured Artisan, we will be having two! First up is Jessica of Liebling, a talented artisan who designs handcrafted jewelry. Self-described as eclectic and feminine with a uniquely modern twist, Jessica fills her shop with a blend of her personal styles. Finding inspiration in everything from romance and the Victorian era to architecture and design, Jessica also likes to make pieces that are fun and playful!

Now, let’s cut to the chase and pose our monthly 20 Questions to Jessica!

Jessica’s 20 Questions:

Let’s start at the beginning. What is your earliest crafting memory?
I’ve been crafting my whole life. My earliest memories are that of being a little girl and making handmade Christmas ornaments with my mom, the kind that you arrange all the little glass pieces in a frame and then use your oven as a kiln to melt the glass and create an ornament. I still have them all. My mom and I were always doing projects together.

What did you want to be when you grew up and why?
Honesty, I could never decide. One day I wanted to go to space camp, the next day I wanted to be a nurse, and the next I wanted to dance. I was always (and still am) all over the place and can never learn enough. I have always known I enjoy being creative.

What has been the most outrageous influence on your designs?
Outrageous? I don’t know if this is outrageous but I feel very strongly influenced by architecture (in particular, the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and those influenced by him!) and geometry. I will be starting a new shop soon in which I feature my new line of geometric designs. I am also heavily influenced by music. Sometimes I hear a song and it inspires me to think up designs, I’m not sure how that works but it’s part of my process.

Did you have mentors? What did they teach you?
Not so much mentors as peers. When I first started crafting jewelry, I had these great ideas in my head that translated into some really horrid designs in real life. It was difficult at first, so I started working with a group of friends and it’s been great to bounce ideas off of each other and get help as to what’s working with a design or not working. It has also really helped me to find my personal style (or styles) and focus on creating things in my personal aesthetic. I’m also working right now with a truly fabulous person on Etsy that is helping me along with my new shop, and is really helping me focus my craft on the new line.

What advice have you been given that you’ve easily ignored?
People are always telling me “you should make these, you’ll make a lot of money” or “you should make something like that”. I always ignore it. I’m creating my own designs, and won’t compromise the thrill I get from that to simply duplicate what someone else is doing. Making money is not what drives me to create, and I won’t make something simply because it happens to be a big seller at a craft show. I want to be innovative in my designs, not run of the mill.

What does your work mean to you?
It means a great deal to me to be able to visualize something and bring it to life, I love being able to create something of value, beauty and worth with my mind and my own two hands. It’s very satisfying.

What is your biggest pet peeve?
Totally off topic, but I can’t stand automated phone systems. I loathe them, and detest listening to a 5-minute menu and punching in my account number while being advertised to and winding up with some wrong department that needs to transfer me back to the phone menu only to punch all my information in again. That and people who are inconsiderate of others.

What is your greatest accomplishment?
Diving into selling my designs headfirst. I’ve been dreaming of transforming my hobby into something bigger for a long time, but haven’t been able to get started. I think most of the roadblocks have been mental.

How old are you? What’s the best part about being that age?
I’m 30, and the best part about being thirty is being out of my 20s. In my 20s, I felt very aimless and floundered a lot. Now that I’m in my thirties I feel much more aware of who I am and finally feel conscious of exactly where I want to go in life.

Have you ever lied about your age?
Yes. I was 13 telling older boys I was 16 so they would want to date me!

Describe your perfect day.
My perfect day is being able to do exactly what I want, when I want to, with no responsibilities or tasks or chores to do. Today, I would have liked to wake up and grab a chai tea latte at the café, read for a bit then take my bike out for a long ride with my husband Gary, come home and design a few pieces, watch a movie together and have a nice dinner sent over from the local takeout. Another day I might want to fly somewhere exotic, meet Tom Waits, try a new food, learn piano, you name it.

What were the jewelry fashions when you were a teenager?
Lots of neon and hoop earrings. Honestly, I was a fashion disaster as a teenager so I really don’t remember many of the trends!

Did you have a teen idol growing up?
Absolutely. Madonna was my idol. I used to sneak miniskirts out of the house when I was way too young to be wearing miniskirts because I wanted to look like Madonna!

Are you married or in a relationship? If so, tell us what your partner’s favorite piece is and why.
I’m married, and my husband Gary really likes my “Orange Crush” earrings because of their simplicity and their bright, cheery aesthetic. They remind him of cheerful, sunny days. He’s also digging my new line. He helps me with all the names I give my pieces.

What makes you laugh the most?
Being goofy, talking in gibberish and satire. I can be pretty sarcastic in my humor, and love comedy like you find on the Daily Show. Just about anything can throw me into a fit of hysterics though!

Tell us about an embarrassing moment.
Er, uh, let me think…I don’t embarrass easily. I’m usually the one (intentionally) trying to embarrass my close friends in public. Embarrassing moment for me? I wet my pants in the third grade, in front of the whole class, because we were doing an exercise where we all had to stand up and raise our hands. I wasn’t one to not get permission as a child, so there I was jumping up and down with my arm raised in order to be spoken to so I could as to go to the bathroom. The teacher must have just thought I was excited about the exercise or something because I never got called on and …. Oops!

If money were no object, what would you buy?
World peace.

What is your most fervent desire regarding your art?
I really enjoy it when other people enjoy my work, and tell me so. My most fervent desire is simply to continue to build on my skills so I can design innovative and special jewelry.

Tell us your favorite joke.
I can’t tell a joke to save my life; I’m more of an observational humorist that makes people laugh in the moment.

What would you like us to remember about you?
I’d like to be remembered for attention to detail and the desire to innovate. And, remember I have a new line coming out in about at month that will fill my new shop at http://www.liebingdesigns.etsy!

To learn more about Jessica and Liebling, check out her blog at http://www.lieblingartcrafts.wordpress.com, updated about every other day at least!  Check back here daily to see more artisans, more informative posts from Mindless Pursuits and other featured artisan profiles as they occur!