mediums. So I just try to create pieces
that make me happy, pieces that I want to
design with. From the beginning I knew I
wanted to add metalsmithing to my work.
It’s just been throughout 2013 that I felt
comfortable enough with metal work that I
was willing to offer metal pieces up for sale.
Recently I’ve been inspired by polymer clay.
I’m looking forward to adding more polymer pieces to my work in 2014.
As far as artistic inspiration I’m greatly inspired by nature. Specifically trees, birds
and the sky really sparks my creativity. You’ll
find many pieces of mine carry a theme of
birds and trees. Personally I am drawn to
a bohemian style that I’ve been trying to
capture in my jewelry designs. Every time I
watch the Pirates of the Caribbean I want a
wardrobe like Jack Sparrow and Calypso. I
think it’s all about the layers.
Running a business is hard work, how do
you balance work and home life?
The million dollar question, isn’t it? I work at
it ALL the time. The past few years I’ve been
squeezing in my work whenever I could.
Sometimes this would
mean working late into
the night to meet deadlines. In 2014 one of my
goals is to allow myself
the time I need to create
and run my business more
efficiently. Most weeks I
can successfully work part
time, some weeks it’s less
than that. That’s why you
A
Ema Kilroy
don’t see a lot of material from me on a regular basis. If I don’t have anything exciting to
share I tend to be quiet. From the creation of
a piece to cleaning, finishing, photographing and listing can take me far longer than
I’d like it to. This year I am setting a schedule
of work hours and sticking to it in order to
streamline this process.
With that said, it can be difficult because
my husband is self employed and I am the
admin in his office, which is a home based
office. My family life is busy too. I have three
boys plus a husband. (I am surrounded by
way too much testosterone!) Two of my boys
are in their early 20’s and moving toward independence. My youngest is 14. We choice
him out of our local public school to a char-
artisanwhimsy.net
27