This monthly blog from The Maker City features a look at some of the Knoxville area’s outstanding makers – artists, crafters and custom builders. This month’s blog introduces three area makers who excel at the art of jewelry making.
Chasity Turbeville Little Foots Jewelry
How did you get started as a jewelry maker?
I’ve always had a creative side but failed to find that “dream job” that fueled my passion -- so I created it! My journey into jewelry making started during my transition into motherhood. I wanted to make myself a breast milk ring to celebrate my breastfeeding journey. I learned how to make jewelry for myself, never even imagining It would lead to a business.
As a new mom, it’s easy to lose your identity in the never-ending role of motherhood. I wanted to find purpose and I thank God for the many blessings and the desire he has laid on my heart to do greater things in this life. I absolutely love what I do.
What do you make & how?
I make breast milk jewelry and cremation keepsakes.
My job isn’t just “making jewelry.” It’s about allowing mothers to celebrate their hard work & determination on their breastfeeding journey, and giving the grieving mother a sense of comfort during the most difficult time of her life. I also make resin keepsakes for anyone who just wants something beautiful to wear that can hold any inclusions.
It’s about taking life’s most precious memories and making them into a beautiful keepsake to cherish for years to come!
Where are your products offered for sale?
https://www.littlefootsjewelry.com
https://www.instagram.com/littlefootsjewelry/?hl=en
https://m.facebook.com/pg/littlefootsjewelry/reviews/
Brief bio:
Native Maryvillian Chasity Turbeville was born and raised in the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains. She attended the University of Tennessee, studying Sleep Diagnostics Technology. As a Registered Polysomnographic Technologist, she worked the night shift before becoming a stay-at-home mom. She and her husband Cody have two sons.
“I have always worked in the medical field but my creative heart desired more. My hobby blossomed and grew into a successful business that is now my career. I absolutely love what I do and I’m so very thankful.”
Susan Bennett Lopez Lucky Girl Eleven
How did you get started as a jewelry maker?
I had seen some work I liked in a store and thought, “I can do that!” I’m mostly self-taught. I spent the first six years doing leather work. Then my brother asked, “do you do wedding rings?” I took a soldering class; I had to get over fear of holding a blowtorch. The second I held it, a lightbulb went off and my whole world lit up.
I pick up a new skill every year. It’s such a big field and there’s so much more beauty that can be added to it. I think I’ve burnt out the motor on at least one Dremel tool. It’s fearlessness, you know. You just gotta go. You just go.
What do you make, and how?
When I sit at my workbench I am surrounded by raw materials: employee ID badges, Victorian-era steel-cut picture buttons, tool tech badges from the early 1900s, a 1908 Model T Ford radiator tag. Things like that make it really fun; you’re pulling in all of these elements. I often will incorporate cast elements, maybe I’ll use a gemstone -- you can spin whatever story you want. It’s telling stories.
Where are your products offered for sale?
Luckygirleleven.com and instagram.com/luckygirleleven/
Check the website for market appearances.
Brief bio:
Susan Bennett Lopez’s dad was a civilian contractor for the federal government and was working for NASA when she was born in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Always quirky and creative, she grew up with a love of beat literature and bebop jazz instilled in her by her father; and nature walks, crafting and fine art from her art teacher mother.
Lopez attended the University of South Carolina with a double major in journalism/pre-law and a minor in art and sculpture. After graduation, she moved to New York City and spent ten years there, working for the Film, Video and Animation Department at the School of Visual Arts and going to jazz and spoken word clubs at night.
In 2011 she and her husband moved to Knoxville for his job at HGTV. She began selling jewelry under the name Lucky Girl Eleven on Etsy in 2012. Her jewelry has been collected by well-known TV personalities, musicians and filmmakers, and has been shown in galleries in New York City, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee.
“Jack Kerouac said, ‘I want to marry my novels and have little short stories for children.’ I feel the same way about my pieces. They’re my little essays.”
Amanda Thompson Box of Pearls
How did you get started as a jewelry maker?
I’m self-taught. I started making beaded/gemstone jewelry for myself soon after graduating college. Around 2004, I started showing my designs on First Fridays at my older sister’s downtown art gallery. Once I gave birth to my daughter, I quit my full-time job as a catering manager in order to stay home to care for her. I felt it was a good time to invest more effort into my hobby; I liked the idea of creating an online store as my main mode of selling. Having an outlet to work with people from all over the world gave me the sense of staying connected, and I could make jewelry to order, so that customers would get exactly what they wanted.
What do you make and how?
My main focus is on medical ID and alert jewelry. The pieces are fashionable, functional, and discreet; made for women, men, and children. The line offers lots of variation to make it a more enjoyable to wear.
In addition, I offer personalized jewelry that is intended for gift giving; to celebrate milestones, to remember loved ones, to support, and to show care.I work with multiple metal types; gold, silver, rose gold, pewter, and stainless steel, using hammered textures and shaped wire, and I hand stamp all of my pieces. Many of my pieces include birthstones.
I also specialize in pearl jewelry. Box of Pearls wouldn’t be complete without pearls!
Where are your products offered for sale?
boxofpearls.com and etsy.com/shop/BoxofPearlsbyAmanda
Brief bio:
Born and raised in west Knoxville, Amanda Thomspon has always been interested in health, wellness and fitness. She received a degree in exercise science from the University of Tennessee, and then took a management opportunity with her family’s restaurant, The Lunchbox. She spent a few years in sales and personal training, learning valuable life lessons and business tools along the way, before making the decision to pursue her hobby full-time.
“I chose my business name carefully. I wanted a name that was full of meaning and had roots. We chose the name Pearl for our daughter because it was my great-grandmother’s name. She was known for her kindness and class, and was very fashionable -- always accented with the perfect jewelry accessories! Feeling inspired by stories of my Gramma Pearl, and wanting to build a business out of the love and at-home opportunity I was given by my daughter, Box of Pearls came to be!”
