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An artist at heart, Leeann Hynes love to make jewelry, paint,
and write. She went
to school to study Fine Art and still has an art show from time to time.
She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with her graphic designer husband, Brandon
Whitesell, and three stray cats that "sort of wandered into our lives over
the years". Leeann began making jewelry when she applied for a job several years ago to work for a local jewelry designer. "When I went in for the interview, I thought that I was applying for office work or that I would have to organize beads or do something of that nature. The production manager sat me down in a room and told me to make wire loops for several beads and then connect them. I had never made a piece of jewelry in my life. Apparently, I was good at it because I got the job. For the next few years, I made jewelry everyday. I absolutely loved it. I then started to make my own designs for friends and family and my presents were always well received."  Leeann
decided to launch her own business when the jewelry designer that she worked
for promoted her to be the buyer for the company and also decided to open
a bead store on the side. "It was a tiny little bead store at first,
but when I left the company in January, it was one of the largest bead stores
on the east coast. Instead of being creative with findings and chain,
I was being "creative" with my spending budget and which delivery service
to use. I felt like I was Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day." Everyday of
my life seemed to repeat over and over again. I think the creative side of
my brain was tired of being pent up and turned in my notice. I left the company
after working there for seven years. I was unemployed for about a week and
then I decided to be "self-employed" and start my own jewelry line. I began
to get my jewelry into local boutiques and I launched my own website in March
of 2005."Leeann works full time out of her home studio in North Carolina.
"I have my own office in our house but during the day I have projects going
on all over the place. My husband came home from work one day and I had a
project on the dining-room table, three projects on the kitchen counter, one
in the oven (clay), two more projects on the floor in my studio, and a wire
macramé project taped down to my office chair. Since he felt that I was taking
over the whole house I have tried to limit myself to two projects at a time.
I have been making jewelry outside since the spring weather is here but I
have learned that if you drop a bead in the grass it is very hard to find.
Making my jewelry seems to have become more than a full time job now. I usually
work about ten hour days but it honestly doesn't feel like work to me. My
husband usually has to tell me to stop making jewelry to spend time with him." Leeann was lucky to have such a great mentor as her boss, Cynthia from
Ornamentea.
"She was not only ahead of her time with her jewelry designs but also with
the quality of supplies and tools that she used to make her jewelry. I feel
like I learned so much from her about jewelry making techniques and about
individual style. She also has a great head for business. The bead store that
she owns, Ornamentea,
expanded four times while I worked for her and she is just getting ready to
open a second store." I hope that you enjoyed peeking into the life of one of our own jewelry designers. Leeann is quite a bit different than I had in mind from visiting with her on forums. It is always so fun to see a picture of people that you chat with every day and get to know their daily routines. You can visit Leeann's website at Stir Studios
Discuss this article on our forum: Jewelry Making HQ Forum
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