How KariLu Jewelry Designs Began

Welcome to the KariLu Jewelry Designs blog!

My jewelry making journey began when I was just a little girl. My family was moving some of my grandmothers things and I found an old metal tin with some beautiful old buttons and beads inside. One particular blue glass bead really caught my attention. I nearly instantly strung it onto a bracelet.

That beautiful blue bead that fueled my creativity so many years ago.

I'm not sure if other people did this when they were young, but a lot of my spare time as a child was spent stringing tiny seed beads onto bracelets and necklaces in a variety of colors and patterns. I remember thinking how fun it would be to earn a living making jewelry. While I cannot yet support myself on jewelry sales alone, I feel very lucky to have fulfilled that childhood dream by making a business out of something I love.

Years later in 2008 I re-discovered those beautiful old buttons that now belong to my mother. I thought it was so sad that those beautiful buttons were to live out the rest of their existence in a dusty old box. I don't know exactly what made me decide to make earrings with those buttons, but that's where I started. I went into hyper drive pairing buttons and wrapping them with wire.

Finished pairs were starting to stack up so I decided to start selling them. My friend, Kim, and I were both ambitious entrepreneurs and jumped right into the world of Etsy. She knit and I twisted wire. I have fond memories of sitting around with Kim and our friend Laura, having crafting parties until the wee hours of the morning. Only when we were too tired to see straight did the crafting stop.

Selecting my shop name, KariLu Jewelry Designs, was easy. Ever since I can remember my most beloved family members would call me Kari Lu (short for Karissa Lu). It is a name that will forever make me feel safe and loved. I'm proud to have products that I can literally put my name on.

My first sale. These cute little pink button earrings :)

I still remember my first sale- January 20, 2010- sweet little pink star-burst vintage button earrings. From the front you would never know that they were buttons. Saying goodbye to my first pair of sold earrings was hard, but I was thrilled to know they were leaving Wisconsin for Tennessee! I sometimes wonder if Amy in Chattanooga, TN still wears them.

I played around with button bobby pins for a while too, but sales never really took off... then came the trees! I was just browsing around on the internet and came across a gorgeous tree pendant that was formed out of twisted wire. I was immediately in love, but being a poor college student, I couldn't afford to buy it. I decided to make it instead! When I was finished it looked nothing like the picture on the internet, in my opinion it was better!

One of my very first "Tree of Life" pendants. 

At the time I was a natural resource management student at the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point. As you can imagine, tree pendants at a natural resources college were a big hit! My friends, coworkers, and classmates really seemed to like my trees so I decided to add them to my Etsy shop as well.

Sales were still slow in my Etsy shop, but I happily plugged away creating new jewelry each day. One day out of the blue a woman from California ordered all five of the "Tree of Life" pendants I had available and still wanted more. Needless to say, I was thrilled and got to work on her additional pieces right away!

These earrings are an example of my jewelry designs today.
While I love each piece I make, these special hoop
earrings are some of my favorites. 

Slowly I began to bend and twist wire into new and interesting shapes, teaching myself as I went. I started experimenting with different gauges of wire, and adding semi-precious stones to pieces. I acquired new sizes and shapes of pliers and hammers, I added sterling silver wire to my arsenal of materials, and began using liver of sulfur patina gel to give my pieces an antique feeling.

Over time my jewelry designs have improved and refined, but they still come from the same place in my heart. I put as much love into the pieces I create today as I put into those cute little button earrings years ago.

The support of my family has been wonderful. Every time I turn around I find a loved one wearing some of my jewelry. I want to thank each and every one of my family members and friends for helping me make KariLu Jewelry Designs a success!

Thanks for reading everyone :)

Karissa
KariLu Jewelry Designs
www.KariLu.etsy.com
www.facebook.com/KariLuJewelry