What makes her unique is her fun and fresh take on creating lovely pieces of resin jewelry and accessories. Take, for example, her "Fruity" collection:
How could you not feel blissfully happy while wearing one of these little lovelies?
PennyDog has even developed a totally new resin technique that involves manipulating semi-cured resin when in the gel stage without a mold:
The end result are these amazing pieces of jewelry, resembling naturally formed ice crystals!
She gave us a special sneak-peek into her cozy looking workspace:
Now, on to the interview...
Q: Let’s start with the simple things first – what’s your name?
A: My name is Kerry but get called many different things online- Penny, PD, PennyD....
Q: Tell us a little about yourself. Where do you live? Are you married? Children? Pets?
A: I make jewellery, home wares, knitting needles and allsorts really using resin, and I’m based in rural(ish) Leicestershire in a listed farmhouse. I live with my partner of nearly 7 years- Alex- and our two greyhounds, Penny and Fletcher. PennyDog came about when we adopted Penny- and I wanted to donate money through my craft to rehoming more of these ex-racers by donating to the Retired Greyhound Trust.
Q: How did you get started working with resin?
A: I’ve always made things. My first craft fair was when I was 12 selling beadwoven jewellery. I booked the table myself and everything, with my younger sister as my assistant. I think my Dad enjoyed having the house to himself that day, though it chucked it down and we barely sold anything! I’ve always been quite entrepreneurial, selling jewellery to teachers at school even! It was just second nature to me. I started using resin as I wanted to combine my then business in photography with photo jewellery as another service, but got a bit carried away and never ended up doing the photo jewellery!
Q: Any advice you would like to share with those just learning the art of resin?
A: Look after your lungs, you only have one pair. I think I have damaged mine as a result of working with resin, so please wear a vapour mask, especially with polyester resin. And have fun :)
Q: Is there anything in particular that inspires you?
A: I am inspired by actual materials. I see things on the ground, or fabrics in a shop and instantly know that they would look great inside resin. I like to push the possibilities of the use of resin too and almost see myself as an experimenter, and have since developed the ice technique, coloured core bangles and distressing castings with paint and ink. I have just finished hand making my first ever two part mould, which resulted in a lot of deep craft knife cuts in my thumb!
Q: What is your favorite item in your shop right now?
A: These love heart knitting needles:
Q: Is there another artistic medium that you would love to try?
A: I would love to combine resin with acrylic. I do a little bit of dabbling with acrylic anyway, but I don't know nearly enough on how to form and laminate this material.
Q: How long have you had your Etsy shop and what made you decide to open it?
A: My website has been running since June 2008 as my main selling venue, but I started on Etsy a little earlier in February, but it was 5 months before I got my first non-Alchemy sale. I opened my shop as a secondary one to my photography shop which has since closed.
Q: Do you have any upcoming projects that you want to share with us?
A: I am working on an acrylic chessboard with resin pieces, with swords inside the knights, gravel inside the rooks, pearls inside the queens, etc. I blog about it occasionally on http://pennydog.wordpress.com
Q: Do you have any goals for this year you would like to share, relating to your art or your business?
A: This is the year I plan to quit my day job! My target date is 22nd December- my 25th birthday. I will have to teach more classes and write more articles and get a few more stockists before I will be able to do this though!
You can purchase your own PennyDog artwork online at PennyDog, here.
Or, from her Etsy shop, at http://www.etsy.com/shop/pennydogaccessories
Read her blog, at http://pennydog.wordpress.com, or follow her on Twitter.
Finally, here are a few of my favorites:
Apple Stud Earrings
Cockle Shells Resin Pendant
Emma's Mobile Disco Bangle
Rockpool Starfish Orb Resin Necklace
1 comment:
her stuff is so great, awesome interview and pics.
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