Featured Friday - Timeless Avenue

I would like you to meet Ger W. and her Etsy shop:  TimelessAvenue.

If you love  jewelry inspired by the speculative, steampunk, fantasy, and all things vintagem, that are given individual names, Then you will love the items at TimelessAvenue. Ger also does custom items.

Ger is generously offering my readers chance to win a wonderful bracelet (pictured below)  It is a beautiful deep red glass bead steampunk bracelet. The centre of the bracelet is a stunning vintage watch piece and underneath hides a beautiful ballerina and her partner who dance on your wrist.
Please leave a comment in this post and also like Ger's FB page

 Let's get to know TimelessAvenue and Ger :

What would you like us to know about you?
I love what I do! Making jewelry is a new passion of mine but its growing and growing and growing. I had no idea how much desire was hidden and embedded deep down. I’m creative by nature but I wasn’t aware of my jewelry making skills until recently!

I have a slightly different style to a lot of people, but it’s interesting and a little bit unique. I like my jewelry to shout loud, and to speak about my personality. So a little bit different is good!

What prompted you to open an Etsy Shop?

It was very strange to be honest with you. I woke up one morning and decided to make my own Alice in Wonderland Range of Jewelry, for myself. As I said my taste in jewelry differs from what I can find in the local shops here, and so I decided to source some goodies and make some special pieces just for me.
 I had no intention of selling any of them on. But once I started I discovered I couldn’t stop, and I
simply fell in love with the whole process of
designing and creating new and intriguing pieces of jewelry.
 
I had used Etsy before as a buyer and thought I’d give it a try. No harm!

When I had about 10 items of “stock”, I started listing them on Etsy, and I received such a good response from friends and family. It was exhilarating when I got my first sale, and my second… and even now 26 sales on, it’s still as exciting. I only listed my first item on the 11th March and feel so successful with my sales to date.

I will admit though, because I put quite a lot of myself into my creations, it can be difficult to let them go! And deciding which ones to keep for myself and which ones to sell is also a little heartbreaking! I can’t keep everything for myself, no matter how hard I’d try!

But Etsy is such a fantastic platform for sales and a great way to promote your shop and get to know other Etsians who are maybe a bit more experienced at this whole selling thing. I’ve had sales outside of Etsy and I’ve recently supported the Friends of the Rotunda Hospital charity with a sale of my items. My jewelry is also being stocked by a store in Dublin city centre, the Jam Art Factory, after I was approached by them through Etsy. So the ball is definitely rolling. I keep thinking what else might happen.

 

How did you come up with your shop name?

Coming up with a shop name was definitely the hardest part, because once you decide on a name and start trying to build a reputation, you’re stuck with it! I wanted my name to stand out, be remembered and most importantly mean something to me.

I’m also a writer. I write poetry, short stories and lots of ramblings and so I finally decided to use one of my poetry titles as my shop name. I wrote the poem a long time ago but it’s always followed me. It’s about friendship and futures and I felt it was very apt for my shop. So far, I haven’t regretted choosing it!

How would you describe your shop?

A little bit kitsch and a whole lot of me!

Everything I make in my shop I make for myself. If I won’t wear it, I won’t make it. There’s definitely a little bit of me in every piece. The majority of my pieces are one of a kind because I like to make something different every time. And I especially love when someone asks me to change an element of a piece I’ve created because it’s what they’d prefer or like. Putting the personal element into my jewelry is what I’m all about. I want someone to wear a piece of my jewelry for their friends to say, “oh that is so you”! I want my customers to know that the piece they have bought was made especially for them.

 
What inspires you?
So many things! Inspiration is incredible because it literally can come from anywhere. I could see a color and long to use it in a bracelet or necklace. I love looking at old movie posters, and love trying to incorporate the imagery I see. Anything dystopian, futuristic and steampunk is obviously a huge influence on me and I love the intricacies of the inner workings of machinary.


Watch parts are a big element of steampunk jewelry. I spend ages just looking at them before I decide on how I’ll magic them into a beautiful piece of jewelry. Essentially, I try to combine something hard with something soft and beautiful. So a rough metal watch piece matches perfectly with a sepia tone ballerina!

Which item in your shop is your favorite to make/find?

I love making the steampunk bracelets with hidden pictures. They are a stunning addition to a piece that stands out so dramatically already. Including a vintage photograph, or a posing ballerina picture really adds another dimension and element to these pieces. And the best thing is that my fans and customers really like them too.

If I can create a piece that will make someone stop and look because they think it’s interesting, then my work is done!

Above all, I love it when someone says, “Isn’t that unusual” when they look at my jewelry.

If you were shipwrecked on a desert island, what are the 3 crafty must haves?

Definitely my orange round nose pliers! I’d be lost without them. I have so many different tools, but I always go for trusty orange. After that I’d need some head pins and my cutting pliers. I’m sure I could make some desert island jewelry with that… maybe.

 


Where else can we find you?

I’m trying my best to build up my online life with Timeless Avenue and so far I have a thriving Facebook Page and I’m slowly getting into Pinterest. I’ve yet to start blogging, but you never know!

www.TimelessAvenue.etsy.com
www.facebook.com/TimelessAvenue
pinterest.com/timelessavenue/


Thanks so much Ger .  It has been great getting to know you and discovering your shop and your lovely items.

Now please show Ger some support and let us know which of her pieces are your favorite from her shop! Oh...and go ahead and heart a few of her items along with her shop :)

Have a great weekend!

knitting yarns