Etsy Monday - Fleur Fatale

This week's featured seller is Greet of Fleur Fatale. Her shop is filled with gorgeous jewelry that strikes a perfect balance between the traditional and the unexpected, the architectural and organic, with materials that range from beads to botanical elements to felt and silk.

Fresa y Chocolate Necklace

I love her style, and I find her photography absolutely stunning. Her pictures in and of themselves are works of art. Her pieces really stand out amidst the plethora of jewelry on Etsy, and I wanted to shed light on a shop where beauty abounds and a talented artist brings life, energy and originality to the art of jewelry making. Join me for a little walk in Fleurfatale's creative garden.

1. When did you realize that you wanted to be an artist/artisan?

As a child I was already crafting. While my sis and brother were climbing trees, I stayed inside painting, beading and drawing. After my secondary school I went to Art school and became a graphic designer. Since then I've never done anything else than making my living by being creative. I really can't do anything else, I would die if I could not create :-) I had my own graphic design bussiness for 12 years, but stopped with it when my 4th child was born. Now my kids are a little bit older, but I can't go back to a regular job. I have a child with a handicap (Down Syndrome) and one with a learning disability, so I put lots of time in guiding and educating them. But the time that is left is filled up completely with crafting! My online shop is in that way a blessing, I can work at home, I can decide all by myself when I work and craft.

Winter Leaves Earrings Turquoise Days Earrings

2. How long have you been working with your medium and what first sparked your interest in it?

I started making jewelry end of 2007, after a while I had so many pieces that I just could not keep them all for myself. I knew Etsy already, but just didn't dare to join,I was not so sure about my creations. I promised myself to give it a try on my 40th birthday and joined Etsy in April 2008 and wooosh, what I never dared dreaming of happened, I sold immediately and people do like and enjoy my work!

And I am learning every day, I like discovering new techniques and materials, right now I am playing a lot with felt! I like mixing materials and techniques, that's why I have textile jewelry in my shop but also creations with stones, glass beads, vintage findings and polymer clay.

Lightness of Being Necklace

3. What do you find most enjoyable/rewarding about your art/craft?

Sometimes I just match materials and colors, not knowing how it will end, and when I finish then a beautiful piece, I can be very pleased! But the process of creating can also be very satisfying!

4. Where do you find inspiration for your art/craft?

It depends : sometimes I am inspired by an acorn I find during a walk, or the play of the clouds in the sky (that I see through my work room window), sometimes a song can make me create, or a vintage teapot I come across at the recycling store. But also children books inspire me , I have tons of them, If I like one, I buy two of them, one for the kids and one for myself :-) And let's not forget poetry, I lose myself in reading poetry and I am sure it inpires my work! But entering a fabric, yarn or beads shop can inspire me a too, just seeing color combinations gives me tons of ideas :-) And other things I come across accidentally, a beautiful exhibition for instance or my China tiger shoes collection (my cat brooches are inspired by them), or a book about African Tribe Jewelry...

River Wood Necklace Autumn Berrie Earrings

5. What message or values do you wish to convey with your art? What does your art say to the world?

I don't have a message to the world, I just want to bring a beautiful piece, and I am very happy if someone loves it to pieces and enjoys it. That is why I like the feedback on Etsy a lot, good feedback really gives you vibes to go on with it!

I think my art is a kind of self expression. I just need to do that, I am glad there is a world outside that can appreciate what I make.

6. Are there any other creative outlets that you use to express yourself? What are they and what do you enjoy about them?

Oh well, I don't sing and don't play music (one cannot have all the skills :-), But I do try to be creative in my cooking :-) and the way I design my house, Oh, if I had the time.... But I am not only an artist, I am also a mother of four, I think I am very creative in the way that I raise and educate them :-))

7. Do you have any advice for other artists/artisans

Go your own way, try to evolve in what you do, don't create just for selling, that could not be the first aim! Create because you love it, then you'll make the most beautiful art!

Silk Diva Necklace

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In closing...

Where else can we find you and your work, either on the internet or in person? (ie blog url, flickr, facebook, etc)

my flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fleurfatale/

my Etsy shop: www.fleurfatale.etsy.com

I have a blog where I communicate about my creations , the process, the shop, my offline creative ways... www.fleurfatale.blogspot.com

Any other websites or resources you’d like to recommend (not just to other artists)?

I have lots of dear friends on Etsy , you can find them all on this blog:
http://www.europeanst.blogspot.com/

I like browsing these blogs to see what's up in the creative world...
http://ohjoy.blogs.com/page/6/
http://www.bloesem.blogs.com/
http://poppytalk.blogspot.com/

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To read past interviews with "Etsy Monday" featured artists, click here!