Monday, January 31, 2011

Business Woman - Jewelry Artist - MOM

Today's feature is Karen Snyder, Owner of OSebastian Chainmaille Creations.

In her Bio on Artfire, Karen states that she has been an 'avid crafter' for most of her life.  In reality, Karen is much more.  A former Corporate Sales executive, she brings her strong ability to move people together with her designer aesthetic to create a successful entrepreneurial venture, all the while being a stay at home mom to her energetic 4 year old son, Seb, and 2 year old daughter, Piper.

Nexus, one of Karen's signature designs, is available in a number of her pieces.  This weave is somewhat reminiscent of Japanese weave but there are parts that look a bit like Celtic Visions as well.  This is a lovely meandering configuration with lots of visual movement. 

Sterling Silver Nexus Necklace




Shown right is the Nexus Necklace.  Karen fashioned this design to sit just on the collar bone, sometimes called Opera length.

Below, the Nexus Pendant.  Karen suspends it from a chain she calls O's with a unique pendant holder.


O's Necklace & Nexus Pendant








Nexus Bracelet








The Nexus Bracelet, a natural match to the Nexus Necklace or Pendant.  Karen uses a double locking clasp on this one, which I love and do myself on more involved pieces.

Perhaps with a little persuasion we can get Karen to include earrings in her Nexus Collection.  :-)





Karen does lots of different earrings.  A large proportion of them are chainmaille based and the balance are either wire techniques or combinations of both the wrapped and twisted wires with chainmaille.  Karen even encourages her children to grow and develop their creativity by including them in some of the beadwork decisions.  This is especially true of her son, Seb.

Sterling Silver Wrapped Love Earrings



 First off we have a simply beautiful example of form and function.  Elegant and delicate, these are wonderfully understated while still being detailed enough for any gal to love.  Karen calls these Wrapped Love and I have a feeling these will be a big seller for the upcoming Valentine's Day gift boxes.







Color Explosion Earrings
Round Maille Flower Buds



Left, Color Explosion.  They sure are!!

Right, Round Maille Flower Buds are one of the many drop earrings that Karen does so well.  The entire length and overall balance of the earring makes it wearable by almost anyone.




Descending Loops
Contemporary and casual, Descending Loops are wonderfully structural and add a fantastic pop of color.  Imagine these with a favorite pair of jeans and a silk blouse for that day out with the girls or to add a pop of color to that little black dress for date night.





Left, yet another version of these in a wonderful ambery tone.





Karen does an amazing job of juggling the full time job of raising her children and also honoring her creative calling.  Her full body of work includes rings, earrings, bracelets, as well as chainmaille bags and small purses.  She also offers custom orders, for those who are interested.  It is well worth the time and effort to take a look at all Karen's OSebastion Chainmaille Creations has to offer.  I guarantee you will find something you love.

Find Karen at any of these places:

On Artfire:   http://www.artfire.com/users/OSebastian

On her own site:   http://www.osebastian.com/

On Facebook:   http://www.facebook.com/karensnydersO.Sebastian


Stop by and take a look at all OSebastian's has to offer.

1 comment:

  1. Candy I am just so touched by this! I can't even begin to tell you how proud and blushing I am as I read this. You are so very kind - thank you, my friend. This, coming from you, is such a compliment for me. I'm honored and humbled :)

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