Today’s Wednesday Indie Artist Fixx interview is with jewelry designer Jill Davis, who made my sister’s favorite necklace ever! I bought a simple sterling silver heart necklace for her birtday at last spring’s Art Star Craft Bazaar in Philly, and she just loved it. Wears it every day! So, I just had to get in touch with Jill to interview her. Read it below.

What’s the name of your business, what do create and sell and how did you get your start?

My business is J Davis Studio on Etsy (also at jillkdavisjewelry.com), but Jill K Davis Jewelry officially.  I make playful, yet striking, sterling silver and 14 k gold-plated brass jewelry in my studio in Brooklyn, NY.  I started with a BFA in Metalsmithing at Syracuse University, where I first began developing my Tiny House jewelry line.  After graduating, I went to work as a polisher in a repair shop in a mall jewelry store in Michigan.  I did learn to do jewelry repair, but after two years, I was completely creatively stunted and I was craving more.  So I enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC in their Jewelry Design Studio one year program and learned the ropes of the jewelry industry in the city. After I graduated, I began Jill K Davis Jewelry and I’ve been in Brooklyn ever since.

What’s something you’ve learned as an adult that you wish you knew as a kid?

That no one is paying attention as closely as you think they are.  You can leave the house sometimes with a wrinkled shirt with a toothpaste stain on it.  No one notices that your hair looks a little funny today.  And, no one saw you trip and if they did, they really don’t care.

Share something silly about yourself.

I was voted Most Likely to Lead a Disco Revolution, Class of 2000.  What can I say?  I liked bright patterns, sparkles and platforms in high school.

Were you an arty craftsy kid? What other types of crafty stuff to you do?

Oh, yes indeed!  My Mom still calls me “Miss Mess” because I was always working on something, usually a few things, in different rooms of the house.  Which I, of course, wouldn’t clean up.  I sewed clothes for my Barbies, I made my own dolls, I made lots and lots of jewelry out of everything imaginable.  I made dollhouse furniture and accessories from all kinds of things.  My love of dollhouses and miniatures and tiny things obviously still informs my work today.

Do you have a favorite type of cookie and do you have a recipe you can share for it?

I was born and raised in Ohio, so of course my favorite cookie is the Buckeye.  Peanut butter, chocolate and no baking involved.  How can you go wrong?

I usually halve this recipe because it makes 166 cookies.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

Buckeye Cookies

2 lb creamy peanut butter

1 lb butter, room temperature

3 lb confectioners’ sugar

2 pkg (12-oz size) chocolate chips

1/2 bar paraffin (optional)

1. Mix peanut butter and butter together with sugar until smooth.
2. Form small balls and refrigerate.
3. Melt slowly chocolate chips and paraffin together in a saucepan.  (I use the microwave)
4. Dip buckeyes in chocolate with a toothpick.  Let dry on wax paper.

If you decide not to use the paraffin, make sure to store in the refrigerator.

What’s better all the money in the world or all the free time?

I would take the free time, definitely.  If I had more time, I could make myself plenty of money!

What does indie mean to you? You can give a literal definition, choose to be a little esoteric or a combination of both.

As a micro business owner, Indie not only means “independent” but “independence.”

Share 3 things that you are crushing on right now from other indie artists/crafters/designers.

Oh, choosing just 3 things was so hard!

1. I just love these Instant Comfort Boxes from Kim’s Little Monsters.  What a great, unexpected way to show someone how much you care.
2. This reversible skirt by Rocks and Salt is also right up my alley.  Two comfy skirts for the price of one in great colors that you’re not going to find everywhere.
3. Architecture and metallics are two of my favorite things and both can found in this dramatic print by Nate Duval.

Christmas is coming, people!  And I’ve been very good this year

What’s the name of your business, what do create and sell and how did you get your start?

My business is called Neogranny.  I create vintage-inspired wooden jewelry. When I was living in San Francisco, a good friend started working with a laser cutter and asked to send along one of my drawings.  I drew up my Retro Bowling Lady and had it cut.  I was hooked!  At first is was a small icon and then I started wearing it as a necklace.  What a stopper—I got so many compliments, I began drawing more designs.

Why do you do what you do?

There is the pleasant smile from  folks who buy my jewelry, kind of like they found a really cool cracker jack prize.  I want my pieces to be fun and affordable.  I make what I like and the end result is very much a vignette of who I am.  My dream is for Neogranny to really blossom so I can continue to work independently from home.

What have you learned as an adult that you would have liked to know as a kid?

Well I have a baby girl now and I am constantly thinking of how I want her to be a confident, self assured person.  I think I doubted myself often and talked myself out of good ideas.  I guess if I were standing in my old bedroom, I would say, “You are good—go for it!’  I’d give myself that boost I was always looking for.

What are your favorite colors?

I am pretty biased to robins egg blue—will buy anything in that color.

Share something silly about yourself.

Strangely, ’silly’ is what my brothers would call me and tease me to no end.  I grew up in a big family—smack in the middle.  Humor was a key element for getting along as well as getting back at one another!  I was always retreating into my room to get away from all the ruckus.  I think this fostered my imagination.

What’s better all the money in the world or all the free time?

If I had all the free time,  money would just be right around the corner!  I would much rather be meandering about working on projects, visiting people and traveling, so free time it is!

What does indie mean to you? You can give a literal definition, choose to be a little esoteric or a combination of both.

Indie really means doing your own thing!  I love what I’m doing, making all the decisions for the designs, graphics and production of Neogranny.  I even love going to the post office to send items out,  especially the one right beside the Goodwill!

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

I draw inspiration from things I find and collect—absolutely enamored with 20th Century design—I have been a thrift store junkie for as long as I can remember.