Talent Alert
with
Chris Clark
Sugar Gay Isber
Chris: What lead you in the direction of making jewelry?
Sugar: I was born an artist, it has always been in me. My art for a dozen years was painter/ceramists. I switched to jewelry as it was easier to move around and didn’t bust when you dropped it (usually). I am totally self-taught. My first big order was for 9,000 necklaces for Proctor & Gamble. I didn’t even know how to use head pins or eye pins. But, I was hooked.
I really call myself the Creative Director of my brand. I have to do all aspects of my job. I make the decisions on everything.
Chris: What’s the most important jewelry making skills you’ve learned and why?
Sugar: I am ALWAYS pushing the boundaries of products. I love figuring out how to make something that I have never done before and that happens after experiments and just making things endlessly. My most important skill is just my brain’s ability to see things finished before I have even started. I can look at a pile of beads and see what I need to make.
I would say that learning eCommerce and social media skills are just as important as any other skill as an artist – period.
Chris: Tell us about your studio?
Sugar: My house is humble but filled with jewelry. Two rooms are just bead and jewelry storage for my over three million beads and miles of chain. My working studio for bead work is an enclosed porch with walls of windows, all facing our small yard. I love watching the birds as I work. Any resin or epoxy work I have another space carved out next to the kitchen. I have a table there because I like the light. I have to be able to keep my eyes on things as they dry or go through the many steps.
Only our bedroom is not a work shop or storage. My husband would freak. I use yard to paint. Even the garage is used for my jewelry business’ flotsam and jetsam – booth storage, my drill press and a spray painting booth. Who knew jewelry could take up so much space?
If I am painting a painting, I sit in the grass and paint on the side of our home. I am way too messy to contain my painting and glitter.
Light my space is all about light. You have to be able to see.
Chris: What’s a typical day look like for a jewelry designer?
Sugar: I get started every day at 6:30am and work until 5:30pm, when my husband walks in the door. I take my job very seriously. By working such long hours it is almost a six day work week. I turn off the radio and it is just me, my coffee and my computer. The first two to three hours of each day are social media. I scream through Twitter, I promote my brand, I write letters to the New York Times, I answer emails, etc. Then, when the sun is up and there is enough light, I might move to my studio to get my creative side energized.
I get to make jewelry for movies and TV shows