Ohh...Put a cork in it!

What started off as a search on Etsy for "trees" led me to the intriguing Cat from Uncorked. A clever Etsy shoppe devoted to jewelry crafts made obviously, from cork. :) It was crafting love at 1st site. Her idea is creative, the packaging is the cutest, and her photographs are awesome. Plus, the icing on the cake? This all started out as a science fair project..! Read on...

1. I have been crafting always! I remember my poor mother going to work with a pocketbook made from ziplock plastic sandwich bags covered with purple feathers and having to store her kitchen supplies in decoupaged cereal boxes and fabric covered Pringles potato chip cans!



2. This is the first time I have ever crafted jewelry and I am certainly no jewelry artist! I have always worked with industrial supplies and always sought to re purpose those supplies into something new, unique and beautiful. As a science teacher I started my Uncorked line after receiving an unusually wonderful supply of cork with my test tubes. I found myself rolling the cork around in my hands, reminding myself of the clay I have always loved to work with, and really within a few minutes I had a picture of my jewelry in my head. I wanted to use Uncorked as a way to inspire girls with my love of science and math, especially my crafty girls, who I am always trying to convince of the connections between science and art! I am determined to get my artsy students to see the beauty in Tesla coil, exploding glass and, yes, cork! And I am equally determined to get my computer students to see the beauty in their binary numbers!





3. As a scientist I am continually inspired by the things I do not know. When a student asks a question in a way I had not though about, I get excited. When I hear something I am unfamiliar with, the researcher in me kicks into high gear. I love to google! I am also a born skeptic so I love to experiment. As an artist I am always inspired by the rawness of real emotion and the contrast of color and texture. I have been an artist all my life. College was kind of a crossroads where I choose science as a career because I knew the art would always be there for me (and maybe I copped out a little bit for the money, but just a little bit because I am a teacher after all!).





4. Bringing a craft into the marketplace is a challenge because when you create something you are not thinking - can I sell this? If you are thinking that you will probably never create anything new or exciting. The scope of my pieces changed quickly from science and math themed into the humor and more modern illustration that my wholesale customers requested and those pieces have also been the primary sellers with my retail customers, so my line has evolved from the influence of the marketplace in a way I had not anticipated. It has been a bit of a trade-off to get my work out there. I am still determined to get my science and math themed pieces (UNCORKEDucation) into the hands, or I should say around the necks, of girls though! It may take a bit of good luck to do it, but luckily I am a mad scientist and luck is something I strongly believe in!



If her images alone aren't enough to interest you to go to her Etsy, i don't know what else will! She's a swell gal and would love for you to check out her shoppe! :)