Great find!

Well, as you may have read in an earlier post, an Etsy Treasury featured my mom's jewelry, and the treasury was picked by fellow Etsian Sherry Truitt. What a delight to have stumbled upon her shop! I loved her things so much, (plus she has a fabulous blog), that I decided to do a little interview with her. I found out from her blog that she lives in a Craftsman Bungalow, which is a passion of mine, so I also wanted to learn more about that.

Sherry makes wearable art out of everyday tools and pieces of hardware. What first caught my eye was this necklace that makes use of a working carpenter's spirit level. What a clever idea! I asked Sherry what inspired her to begin doing this line of work, and she said:

"Ever since I was a little girl working objects have held a fascination for me. I rarely played with dolls. But give me an erector set, or some Lincoln logs and I could build you a working city. I used to drive my mom nuts, because I'd mix all the sets together. Then, I started collecting levels, compasses and old typewriter keys."

I guess her collection and obsession have paid off! Her shop boasts over 100 items sold, and has been featured on the front page of Etsy.

Having so many choices, I wondered if there were any pieces of jewelry that Sherry wore every day. She responded:

"I wear a blue level bracelet everyday. It's one I made about 5 years ago. I just love to watch the bubble move along. Twice I've been out in a restaurant with my husband, and I was asked to sell it right off my wrist. Now I carry an extra with me, but so far no one has asked."

I always like to learn something about an artist that is not directly related to what they make. I really believe that so many things in our lives make us who we are, and I was fascinated to learn that Sherry and I share a passion for Craftsman Bungalows. I am at a point in my life that it is not possible for me to have one, but Sherry is lucky enough to be living in one! Here she tells us a little about it:

"We've owned our Craftsman bungalow since 1992, and have lovingly restored it. It actually wasn't in bad shape because we are only the 3rd owners. Not a lot of modernization had been done. We did have to put new oak floors in a few rooms, and we installed a tin ceiling in the breakfast room. Old bungalows have little closet space, but beautiful wood work. Luckily, my husband is handy, and has crafted a number of built in cabinets. The grounds were neglected when we moved in because the last owner was quite elderly. So, we've been working on the gardens. No hybrids, please! We've tried to add original strains of flowers like, columbine, iris and old fashioned roses. The wisteria in the front yard is over 80 years old. The daughter of the former owner sent us black and white photos of how the house and grounds used to look."

Truly amazing - what a fun project that would be. Well, it wouldn't be fun for me with 3 kids running around at my feet, but maybe someday! I am actually in the middle of re-doing some landscaping at our house, and I like the idea of having original strains of flowers. Sometimes it's good to get back to basics! I wonder if Sherry reads my favorite magazine, American Bungalow?

Thank you very much to Sherry for sharing with us! Please check out her website and her blog! You can also find more pictures of her work here and here. I'll leave you with these few more things (I just can't resist sharing - they are so very clever):