We all love to show our #DisneySide, be it with character clothing, pins, bags, ears, or even combining them all into a sweet Disneybound outfit! Sometimes the perfect thing to add to our Disney ensemble is a little sparkle! I was recently given the opportunity to get to know an awesome Jewelry Designer, Amanda, who specializes in some super cute Disney designs! If you love movie and character inspired pieces, then this girl has some great items available! Combine it with your favorite Disney attire and go rock the park!
You should definitely check out her etsy shop!
Hi Amanda! It’s so nice to meet you and get a chance to chat about your work!
First off, Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m 23 years young! I currently go to school at CSULB and I am studying fashion design. My ultimate big-girl dream job is to be a wedding dress designer. I’m originally from the Bay Area in NorCal, and I lived in Hawaii for a while before settling down here in sunny SoCal. I’m slightly obsessed with my adorable dog, Mater, who is a weenie-beagle mix! In my rare spare time, I like to go to the beach and attempt to surf, I love being in the ocean in general. I really love eating (pizza, sushi, and Thai food are my current favorite foods, I can’t even pick one). I have a very sarcastic sense of humor, and almost everything that comes out of my mouth is meant to be funny. (Unless it’s business of course, then I try to be very serious and professional). I’m a little 5’1” blonde girl and I look half my age, but I have big goals and want to make people happy!
How did you get started designing Jewelry?
I saw a necklace on Etsy that I REALLY wanted, but it was ridiculously expensive, and I thought to myself, “I can totally make that”. I looked into what supplies I would need and how to do it, and bought them spontaneously. It started out as thinking, “I can make myself so much cute stuff!”, and then I thought, “I can make all my friends such cute gifts!”, which then turned into, “Maybe I should sell these!”. I can’t even remember what item I originally saw, or if I even made it!
Did you know how to create these before? Or did you have to experiment with design methods?
Oh man. I had no idea what I was doing. I look back at some of my originals and am shocked someone liked them enough to buy them! I didn’t actually experiment too much, once I found a font that I really liked, I stuck with it. I’ve even bought more fonts since then, but I just don’t like them as much. I think the font I use really represents my personality because it’s fun, modern, a little girly, and I like sticking with that.
I see Disney has quite an influence over your work, What made you decide to incorporate that into your designs?
I worked at Disneyland pretty much right when I moved to Southern California. I think working at Disney you automatically become subconsciously obsessed with Disney. When I opened my shop, I originally wanted to make custom Disney character inspired necklaces. For example, if someone’s favorite characters were Ariel and Cinderella, they could pick the charms that represented those characters to go on their necklace. They could choose from an apple, a starfish, a shoe, a spinning wheel, etc., but since their favorites were Ariel and Cinderella, they would choose the starfish and the shoe, and it would go on one necklace. They could even customize it with their name on a charm. That NEVER sold. So then I thought, “Maybe people would like something that’s already designed for them”. Then came the Never Grow Up necklace, with a feather, fairy, and clock tower charm. Now business “picking up” with maybe 1-2 orders a week. I realized this might be a good idea, so then came the Part of Your World necklace, and the Adventure Is Out There necklace. The rest was history, and I’m still trying to come up with new designs for characters I haven’t created for yet, and trying to send out all of my constant orders as soon as I can.
What are some of your other artistic inspirations?
My necklaces are pretty much all inspired by stories and characters. I’ve tried selling other types of items, but they’re just not in my market. Outside of Etsy, my design inspiration at school comes a lot from nature. The beach, the woods, flowers, anything underwater, (I follow so many underwater photographers on Instagram!), are all inspirations I have used in the past. I’m quite the beach bum, and if I ever have a day off and the sun is shining, chances are I’ll be at the beach. I usually use the beach as inspiration, or I’m at the beach looking for inspiration.
What are your most favorite pieces to create?
I really love when people have custom requests! It’s different for me, and it’s outside the box. I love making these necklaces, but making the same ones over and over again can get a little monotonous! I love going back and forth with people designing something so personalized, because I really know they’ll enjoy it. They end up with a totally custom piece of art, and they know they helped design it.
What are your best sellers or most popular designs?
Obviously, the Let It Go one was a huge success. I think I’ve made over 1,000 of that design alone. After that, I would say Part of Your World and Adventure Is Out There are the next popular.
I’m sure you’re gearing up for the holidays, do you design any special items for the season?
Eek…I don’t! If I wasn’t in school, I probably would. I just don’t want to promise new items to customers that I won’t have time to make for their holiday gifts! I myself will be spending Christmas break with my family in NorCal (for the first time in 3 years!), and my shop will be closed for a week or two in December, for selfish personal reasons of wanting to fully enjoy my time with my family. (Sorry everyone!)
Any big plans for your shop in 2015?
That’s a great question! If there are, I don’t know them yet! Usually when I come up with new designs, it’s in the middle of the night and I have to write it down to work on the next day. I’m not one to plan too far ahead, being a scatter brain allows for more spontaneous surprises 😉
The BIGGEST question of them all… What is your favorite attraction at Disneyland?
Technically, it’s in California Adventure. Tower of Terror is hands down my favorite! Every time I get on it, I get excited like I’ve never been on it before, even though I know the exact drop pattern. If I have to pick one Disneyland side, it would be Space Mountain!
Thank you so much Amanda for taking the time to answer these questions and for giving us some insight into you and your shop! I’ll for sure be checking out some of the necklaces. Best of luck to you!
You can catch Amanda at the following Social Media Sites! And if you have any questions or comments for Amanda, please leave them below!
Amanda Jane on Geeks Corner:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKDUcW23dSM
