Saturday, December 18, 2010

Girl Loves Glitter on Etsy.com




My name is Lilian Ginebra and I am a mostly self-taught metal smith living and working in the San Francisco Bay area.  I am so excited to have recently opened my jewelry shop at www.girllovesglitter.etsy.com where I have the opportunity to sell my designs.  I am a mother of three young children, and I do most of my work in the evening when I magically transform from mommy to jewelry designer.  Occasionally, someone takes a fantastically long nap, and I actually get to work during the day!  Amidst the tricycles, suitcases, and holiday decorations, I have set up a home studio in my garage.  This is where I happily sit late into the night cutting, sawing, sanding, torching, drilling, filing, and hammering away like a mad scientist while the rest of my family sleeps soundly.
I grew up in a family filled with artists, creative thinkers, and DIY’ers.  I received a BA in Art History and Fine Art from San Francisco State University.  I have been designing and creating jewelry for as long as I can remember. It began with daisy chain necklaces and then transitioned to friendship bracelets made from my mother’s seed beads. From there, I began working with wire and semi-precious stones.  I have since graduated to the vast world of metalwork.  I was hooked the moment I lit my first torch and melted my first sterling ball.  From sketching a design to manipulating the metal and gemstones into my visions, I love the entire process of transforming my drawings into finished pieces of jewelry.  My designs are inspired by colors and shapes from nature and my time spent living in the Caribbean and Mexico.  I strive to make jewelry that is beautiful, well made, comfortable and that people will love to wear.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Photo of my workspace

Well, here it is, in all of it's messy glory, my workspace.  I's not fancy, it's not a proper jewelers bench, but it's mine & I love it.  It may bewilder you to know that a place that appears as chaotic as this is one of the places where I am most at peace.  To me it isn't chaotic at all, in fact everything is exactly where it should be...you should have seen it before I cleaned up!  

The board nailed into the wall above is a convenient place to hang tools...
I'm loving the handy little design punch holder my Dad made me for my birthday.  He drilled holes into a piece of picture framing & voila!  Now, i just need about 3 more & I'm all set...Dad...are you reading this?