Designer Profile: West Byron

Desmond pendant from West Byron on Etsy.com.

Here, Chicago-based Jessie Casteel talks about her unique and personalized silver jewelry that she creates and sells in her Etsy shop, West Byron. 

Indie Style Finds: When and how did you get into making jewelry?

Jessie: I'd been making simple beaded and wire-wrapped jewelry for years just for fun, but when I was pregnant with my second child (almost 4 years ago), I noticed my obstetrician was wearing a simple, hand-stamped mother's necklace. We talked about it a bit, and I decided I wanted to find something similar for myself. I looked around for a while and concluded that nothing out there really did it for me, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I'd seen metal clay/fine silver demonstrated on TV a few years earlier, so I ordered some and started experimenting. One thing led to another, I was so inspired by the limitless possibilities of the medium, and here we are, four years later, making fine silver jewelry full time!

ISF: How long does it take you to make one item?

Jessie: There are a number of steps when working with precious metal clay, with the time required between steps for the piece to dry, fire in the kiln, tumble in the tumbler. As far as active work, my simple pieces can take 15 minutes to an hour, while my more complicated, hand-sculpted pieces can take one to three hours of active work. Though with all the time required for drying, firing, tumbling and finishing I might start a piece on Monday morning and finish it up on Thursday. With two small kids and other work obligations, I'm not able to work on jewelry every day or for more than six hours at a stretch, so it's unusual that I'm able to start and finish a batch of items in less than three days time.

ISF: What inspires you to come up with new designs?

Jessie: My best ideas are inspired by my wonderful friends and family and my desire to make them the perfect gifts. As a mom, I've also been inspired by the simple shapes, bright colors, and fun motifs of childhood.

ISF: What is one of your favorite designs that you've created?

Jessie: I love my birds and owls, but my favorites have been my flower earrings with bezel-set stones in bright, happy colors. Those are the pieces I really love to wear.

Designer Profile: DodoDesigns

The owl pencil case I purchased from DodoDesigns. Love it!

As a super organized type person, I can’t just throw my pens and pencils in my backpack. The idea of that disorder makes me cringe. I was embarrassingly using a Ziploc bag for my supplies and decided I needed to step it up and get a cute pencil case. After searching the Internet, I found my prized pencil case from DodoDesigns on Etsy. I picked it because of its hardy construction—most people were selling flimsy fabric pouches—and the adorable owl design.

Here’s some background on the designer behind DodoDesigns, Francesca Burdett-Coutts, from Toronto, Canada, who started making these useful and lovable pouches in 2009.

Indie Style Finds: How did you get into sewing and crafty projects?

Francesca: My mom is an artist, and we were always encouraged to do tons of creative stuff growing up. I still love painting and I’m very into photography. I started sewing because I had this idea for pouches and wanted to see how they would turn out. I was pretty terrible in the beginning, but I just kept trying and trying until I got a product that I was happy with.

ISF: How many different pouch sizes do you make?

Francesca: I make about five different pouch sizes. Every now and then I do a custom size if a customer requests it; I’m always open to suggestions about what else my customers would love to have. I’m also going to expand into things like iPad cases and leather handbags in a couple of months.

ISF: What's one of your favorite patterns you use in your pouches?

Francesca: I love all my patterns. I think the owls are ridiculously cute. Then I go through phases when I love the cupcakes because they’re really cutesy, and I definitely love the new cherry pattern that I have. I also really love the Rebel print. It’s really edgy with attitude. I could probably go down the whole list like this because I really get so excited when I see all of them.

ISF: How often are you working on projects for DodoDesigns?

Francesca: I really love my business and it makes me so happy to do it. So I probably work on something for DodoDesigns every day, either sewing or planning new designs. I’m going to launch a leather line of handbags shortly so that has involved a lot of planning and a lot of finding new suppliers. I’m really excited about how it’s going to turn out, but I could use a few more hours in a day!

Owl or Nothing

Owl designs are a cute and fun accessory for any indie girl's wardrobe. Owls can be found on clothes, bags, jewelry, and everything in between. I have an adorable shirt, necklace, earrings, and even received cute plastic owl covers for my keys as a birthday present. 

This adorable furry bird actually has a special meaning for me. When I was younger my grandma called me her Little Owl. She would fight to get me to go to bed as a kid and one time she thought I was asleep when the phone rang. I jumped up from bed and said, "Who is it? Who is it?" And she sweetly responded, "Go to bed my little owl." After that, owls had a special little meaning between us. Every time I see a cute owl item, I’m reminded of my grandma and how awesome she was.

Here are a few of my favorite owl items right now:

Owl Earrings

Wise Old Owls Black and White Post Earrings from Ring Leader on Etsy.com.

Wise Old Owls Black and White Post Earrings

Cute stud earrings that are hand-drawn by the artist.

From: Esty.com

Seller: The Ring Leader

Price: $9.95

Owl T-shirt

We Give a Hoot Tee from ModCloth.com.

We Give a Hoot Tee

Cute owl design on a soft cotton V-neck shirt.

From: ModCloth.com

Price: $29.99

Owl Mug

Clever Critter Mug from ModCloth.com.

Clever Critter Mug

I want to rock this cute mug while drinking my morning coffee.

From: ModCloth.com

Price: $17.99

Owl Necklace:

Owl Be Loving You Necklace from Westbyron on Etsy.com.

Owl Be Loving You Necklace

This hand crafted silver pendant can be customized with names on the back. So romantic and sweet.

From: Etsy.com

Seller: Westbyron

Price: $72.00

*Jennifer Moncayo