Interview with Tracey Weiser of Summerone

Read about Summerone owner, Tracey Weiser. This talented lady has a way with taking something old and changing it into something fabulous!

First off so everyone can get to know each other better what is your 'real' name? And where do you live? Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Tracey Weiser and I live in Moses Lake, WA. My husband and I moved here about three years ago after we got married. He got a job here and the cost of living was so affordable it seemed like a good fit. We had come to check it out the year before, our friend's had moved here and they're the ones who offered the job opportunity. It was a wonderful couple of days, sunny and twinkling and we were smitten right away.

Moving here was another experience, to say the least. It is far away from our families - mine live in BC, his live west of the mountains and don't travel often. Because we were newly married and not finished the immigration process when I got pregnant I was kinda 'trapped' here. And as you can imagine that 'trapped' feeling made the whole process of getting used to a new town difficult. The immigration process is all complete now and a great weight has been lifted.

How did you learn about Etsy?

I had stumbled upon Etsy the year before we moved here, through an artist that was featured in a little mag I'd picked up. I don't remember the title of the magazine but the artist was trixiedelicious from Australia. I have always loved shopping garage sales and second hand stores and I found that last solitary dish from a fancy set to be one item I had a hard time letting pass me by. I would, invariably. But I would yearn for those misplaced, forlorn treasures after wards. So I love that she finds a way to reuse them. She makes them stand alone and be special! In fact, I just had to feature one of her items on my blog last week: her MOFO plate for mother's day! Just to be cheeky!

How did you get started making jewelry and how long have you been doing it?

I've always been interested in the art of making things: paintings, driftwood sculptures, knitting, jewelry. I have a degree in Fine Art and English

I'm not exactly sure when I started making jewelry. I made some things when I was in college, about 10 years ago. And I remember that those friends thought of me as a jewelry maker, but I don't have any of those pieces anymore, so I can't tell you what I made. I DO have a terrible memory, though :D

What do you like most about your shop appearance? What would you like to improve?

I was so happy to find Etsy for the sake of having a store, but I find the process of making my shop the way I'd like it to be to be a difficult one. I like that my shop currently has a cohesive feel to it, but I'm not particularly fond of the overall theme it projects. I'll be changing it again, though that entails taking all new photos. I've been working on my photos and I feel that those are coming along, but I still have work to do there, for sure. I would like to have more close up photos of my jewelry and to be more careful about background colors. Good photos are integral to selling on Etsy, I think. I think, too that a cohesive backgrounds to your photos should suit the theme you want your shop to project and my feels all over the map to me, frankly! I've found fotofuze.com to be helpful in tweaking photos for items that I haven't gotten around to taking new photos of. It is a slower process than I'd like it to be but then I'm impatient! I feel the pressure of my to-do list the strongest when I get working. I have a hard time, working and relieving the pressure I put on myself to get more things done. Consequently, I'm usually spinning in circles with too many windows open on my computer and too many projects out on my desk.

What is your creative style? Is your work area neat and tidy or a disaster? What inspires you?

I do wish that I was a cleaner worker. When I'm deep in a project: painting or jewelry, I definitely need a space with a door that I can shut. Just so that I can walk away from it. I'm pretty messy; I love to have all the parts at my disposal, so that I can grab them as I need them and I don't put things away very well. A difficult way to work when you have a toddler. Ha-ha!!

Everything inspires me! I wish it didn't!! The outdoors, fashion catalogs, what my friends wear, my friends: I think about them and make what they would like. I could go on and on! I have far too many ideas racing around my brain - I can't get them out fast enough. I keep photo files and they are filled with examples of work, directions that I'd like to pursue, try my hand at. But when I'm actually working it is quite organic. I have all my beads and wire around me and start a new earring or pendant design just as I finish one, sometimes WHILE I'm working. I'm a very circular thinker! Maybe a little A.D.D! :D That's probably how I got started working with repurposed items.

How did you come up with you shop name?

I called my shop summer's workshop for so many reasons: my birthday is in July and summer is my favorite season! It has such a magic to it; it seems that life is more ripe and bountiful in the summer! Summer's workshop sounds a little like Santa's workshop: another phrase that brings up ideas of magic and possibilities. I'm still not clear on how to present that as a theme for my store, but as I said, ideas are always spinning and I feel that I'm close!!

I noticed you have a lot of variety in your shop and you used recycled, repurposed components. How did you get started on this path? What kind of jewelry do you like to wear?

I've always been a little bit crow: sparkly things catch my attention and I have to snatch them up. I'm also a big fondler, I always touch things in stores and I loved dress up as a child. When I was little, I liked to pick up a long necklace and wrap it around my wrist and if it was long enough twist it under my hand and over my finger for a 'matching' ring! As I got older and got better at different techniques, I would take old necklaces that I found at garage sales or secondhand shops and make bracelets or earrings for myself. Then, gradually, other people asked me to do the same for them, with items that they loved, but that had fallen out of style or they had grown tired of. I love doing it! Seeing what I can come up with! That in particular is a very organic experience. Very experimental. I just play around with different materials until something speaks to me: matches the beads or style of the old piece and I move from there! I love to wear the jewelry I make! Perhaps that sounds self serving, but a lot of times, I make jewelry because I have an outfit that I want to wear and I don't have anything to go with it! So I make something.

Featured Seller Interview with Catherine Freshley

Enjoy these lovely treasuries we made for Catherine, and learn more about her below.

How was it that you came to Spokane from New Orleans?
I was living in New Orleans after graduating from Tulane University, where I got a degree in economics and English. Though I love the city, I was wanting to be closer to home, which is Portland, Ore. When my boyfriend found it he would be moving to Spokane for work, I was happy to come with him.

Are you adjusting to life in the Pacific Northwest?
I suppose I’ll take a very particular approach to this question. If I was from New Orleans, I would consider Spokane part of the Pacific Northwest. But since I am actually from Portland, there is not much “Pacific” about Spokane in my opinion! That said, I am really liking the “Inland Northwest” a lot and being back in the Northwest in general is great. However, I was just in New Orleans for a week and I remembered how much I love 70 degrees in March, among many other things.

Say something about your love of art, or your journey with regards to your art.
My parents are both very artistic so my sister and I grew up always doing art projects – stringing necklaces, making paper, drawing, painting, you name it. I have had a few lessons here and there but most of my learning has come from doing. I had a few other hobbies growing up, but art was the one that ran throughout.
I tend to go through phases, frequently changing the subject matter and media that is of the most interest to me. Right now – though not reflected very much in my Esty shop – I have been inspired by the beautiful landscapes of this area, of Willapa Bay in southwest Washington, and by some photos I took while driving here from New Orleans. I have long been interested in multiples and collage, which you see more of in my shop.

Can you tell me something about the direction you see yourself going from here with your art and or life.
Though I have always been making art, I had never tried to sell any until just over a year ago. I made the wood block collages that fill my Etsy shop. Though I haven’t yet had much success on Etsy, I was very successful selling these in New Orleans – at a market, in a gallery and to friends. The quick success I experienced was exciting and made me seriously consider the possibility of making money on art for the first time. At that point, I was working full time. Now I am only working part time and have been keeping very busy getting 15 large acrylic landscapes ready for a restaurant show at Picabu Bistro on the South Hill starting March 23rd. I am anxious to see if I am able to sell anything, which will help me determine if I should consider full time work again or if I should keep devoting so many hours to painting.

Any thing else you would like to say or tell us to help know you better?
I have always loved to bake but since graduating from college (almost two years ago) I have really been enjoying learning how to cook, which my boyfriend appreciates though he is quite a cook himself. I like to run and be outside and am looking forward to my first summer here. Spokane doesn’t have quite the music scene that New Orleans does, but I have been pleasantly surprised to find a few good live music venues. I love going out dancing.
Though I am not very good at participating on this team, I enjoy at least peripherally being a part of the camaraderie and reading everyone’s advice.