Featured Artist Spotlight....Michon!!!

I met Leah through Etsy's Fabulous Artistic Moms Team. I adore her jewelry, especially her incredible wire skills. Her pendants, rings, and earrings are breathtaking. Leah is a new mom who joined the Moms team when she was still pregnant. It has been a real pleasure getting to know Leah and seeing her grow as an amazing mother and also a fabulous artist!

Okay...now here is more information about Leah. I asked, she answered!

MJ: How long have you been creating/designing? When did you first learn you had a creative side?
Leah: I have always been creative. When I was a little kid I wanted to be a fiction writer and even started writing a novel, although I never finished it. (It turns out fiction writing isn't really something I'm good at.) I've been making jewelry since I was in high school when I took a beading class with some friends while on a vacation with our families. I really enjoyed it and gradually learned more and more techniques including wirework and some metalsmithing skills.


MJ: What is your inspiration to create? What is your motivation to succeed?
Leah: It's hard to define what inspires me. So many things seem to inspire me, and I think it has a lot to do with my mood on any given day. I feel better when I'm doing something creative, so I try to stay busy with creative projects as much as I can. My motivation to succeed is my son, who is 3 1/2 months old. I want him to grow up seeing me as a good example of someone who didn't give up on their dreams, so that he knows he can be both happy and successful when he grows up.

MJ: When you are not working on your craft, what are you doing?
Leah: I have a part-time job, as well as training to teach fitness classes. At the moment, I spend most of my free time with my son. I try to fit in quality time with my husband and friends too.

MJ: Do you belong to any groups on Etsy?
Leah: Yes, I'm a member of three teams: One is Fabulous Artistic Moms (FAM), which is a great group of moms. We have a lot of fun, and there is so much diverse talent in the group. Another is JET (Jewelry on Etsy), which is all jewelry makers and a lot of really fun people. The third is SFEtsy, which is a team for San Francisco area Etsy people. I know a couple people on that team in real life, so I'm hoping to be more active with the group and get to know a lot more local artists and crafters that way.

MJ: What is on the horizon for you? New products? Etc.?
Leah: I'm just getting back into designing after not doing much for the last few months of my pregnancy and the first couple months of my son's life. So I think new products are definitely on the horizon - I have more new ideas than time right now, but I'm gradually getting some of them made up into jewelry designs.

MJ: Share one thing about you that you think would surprise people.
Leah: I lived in Mexico City for a summer when I was in college, and at the time I was semi-fluent in Spanish. My husband is part Mexican but doesn't speak a word of Spanish, so even though my Spanish last name comes from him, I'm the one in our family who can actually speak Spanish. I'm hoping to teach our son some Spanish, but I'm not as fluent as I used to be so it's a challenge.








Check out Leah's Etsy Shop.... Michon.