How long have you been making and selling jewelry?
I’ve been making handmade jewelry for about twelve years now. When I was in high school I received a starter kit for my birthday, which contained two spools of nickel-silver wire and a handful of beads, as well as instructions for some of the basic components, like scrolls and loops. At some point in college I graduated to sterling silver wire, for its brighter luster and more workable texture. Finally, after giving my friends and family more jewelry than they knew what to do with, I decided to share my skills with the world. I’ve been selling my jewelry on Etsy since summer 2009, originally under the seller name Deutsch Creations. The store’s name changed to The Relic Shoppe in 2010 with the introduction of the Relic line.

How did the Relic Shoppe come about?
The idea for the Relic Shoppe came to me one day as I was talking to some friends about our favorite geek convention, Anime Central. We were discussing their plans to share a table at the Artist’s Alley, where artists can show off and sell their geeky art. I realized that this would be a perfect opportunity to market my jewelry to a completely different crowd, and before long I had the Relic Shoppe all planned out.

Tell us a bit about the Relic Shoppe concept.
The basic idea of the Shoppe is very simple. In Final Fantasy VI, the player can equip their characters with Relics, accessories of various types that have unique effects when worn. Since these relics have little relevance to the plot, they never appear visually in the game; they are merely a list of names and effects. What I’ve done is taken this list of names and effects and designed jewelry pieces around them. All the designs you see here are my own original creations, inspired by the world of the game.

What inspires your jewelry?
I take my inspiration from a lot of things. I’m a dancer, so I tend to be very in tune with the inner momentum of static objects. I like a piece of jewelry to have a flow, a sense of movement, something for your eye to follow as it travels around the piece. When designing, I use verbs like swinging, spinning, dropping, circling, flying, hovering, quivering…I like looking at a piece of jewelry and getting the feeling that it’s really a burst of energy that’s been contained, but only barely.

Do you have any favorite materials?
I’ve always been a fan of silver. It’s what I first learned on. Also, I think silver has a lovely cool crispness that works well with a variety of bead materials. As for beads, I’ve always loved semiprecious stones. I actually like working in semiprecious more than precious. I’d much rather work with jasper than with diamonds. For me, semiprecious stone is…real. It’s earthy. It’s tangible. You can see the stone it came from in the banding, veining, and striations within each and every bead. Even if it’s just my standard 8 millimeter round, it’s got character. Each bead is individual, and reflects the earth it came from. A strand of red jasper contains many distinct hues, and even more unique veining patterns. That means that no two pieces I make are ever going to be exactly identical. Also, the range of colors available in semiprecious stone is expansive and unique. You get some very unusual color combinations within the stone itself, myriads of vibrant colors that somehow all go together. Within these stones I see subtle movement patterns that play a large part in the inspiration for my pieces.

Do you have any other lines of jewelry aside from the Relics?
Yes, I do! I’ve started a line of Character Silhouettes, based on the success of the Moogle Charm, that gives the same treatment to an assortment of Final Fantasy favorites. I’m also working on a line of Tabletop RPG-based cleric Holy Symbols, starting with a set for Pathfinder deities. I also have a few miscellaneous items, including a set of fully-customizable stitch markers for knitting and crocheting and a bracelet that can be used to count and store any number from one to one hundred.

Anything else you'd like to tell us?
Well, I'm always up for custom work! I love to work with my customers to create one-of-a-kind pieces that have special meaning to them. Past custom work has involved a pendant for a customer's original character, a set of DC superhero-themed earrings, a state silhouette pendant, and a set inspired by the metaphysical healing properties of the stones involved. If you would like to discuss a custom order, by all means send me a convo!