We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Loren Lavine a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Loren, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Taking care of customers isn’t just good business – it is often one of the main reasons folks went into business in the first place. So, we’d love to get a conversation going around how to best help clients feel appreciated – maybe you can share something you’ve done or seen someone do that’s been really effective at helping a customer feel valued?

The best thing I can do to show client appreciation is fuse positive energy and gratitude into my work. I do this by starting my day with meditation and asking the Universe to guide me in all that I do. This energy sets the tone for the day. Being centered energetically offers me the freedom to know I’m bringing forth my absolute best and highest self to every creation. That positive energy extends to my clients in the form of jewelry, art, words, interior design, and human-to-human connection. On the receipt, I leave a hand-written note sharing how the pieces are blessed with love, health and prosperity. Looking back, I realize I’ve always practiced this on some level, but as I’ve gotten older and my business has grown, the process has become more deliberate, and with that intentionality, it’s expanded. The feedback I get from clients is so heartwarming and appreciative; they resonate with not only the energy of their product, but with me (the artist). With this practice, the love and appreciation I send out comes back 10-fold, and to me, that’s everything. I couldn’t ask for more.

Loren, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I always say I was born an artist. I came from a long line of creatives who work in a variety of mediums. My mother makes beautiful loom-beaded necklaces. I remember as a child, being just tall enough to look over the table where my mom was beading, and with every pass off the needle on the loom, the design would appear magically. I was fascinated then, and that fascination sparked a genuine passion to create beautiful things. My uncle is a potter, my grandmother was a talented jewelry maker and basket weaver, her sister as well. My cousin is famous potter Maria Martinez, so it’s safe to say it’s in my blood. I grew up on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation in Northern California. Being a member of the tribe and growing up there gave me a sense of purpose and appreciation for nature and our connection to it. I am proud to say my work is “Authentic Native American made”. My art career started out by designing logos for organizations while in high school. That led me to painting murals at school and around town, and that’s where I started exploring with paint and other mediums. My acrylic and watercolor pieces can be found at LorenLavinePrintable.etsy.com which is a digital download site. I attended Humboldt State University where I majored in art, which led me into metalsmithing and jewelry design. I feel so in tune with myself and my surroundings when I’m translating a design onto a piece of metal or into a stone bracelet or necklace. My jewelry can be found at LorenLavineDesigns.etsy.com. A new and separate etsy shop for my silver and copper jewelry is coming soon, so please be sure to join the mailing list on my website LorenLavine.com. The name Sentient by Loren Lavine came about when I was trying to figure out how to categorize myself as an artist who works in so many different genres. I absolutely love bringing wellbeing and beauty into the world with both my designs and the energy behind them. I have never stopped learning; I’m versed in numerology, energy stone healing and color therapy. Over the years, my business has expanded, but I always abide by the guiding principals of being environmentally-friendly and using ethically-sourced materials. Leaving this planet a more beautiful and flourishing place is paramount for me. I love when client’s come to me with their needs and I can point them to the right stone or color to wear. There’s a real sense of wholeness when someone orders a jewelry piece or commissions a painting and they tell me the backstory of why they are getting it or how it resonates with them. That loving human connection is what really matters, and that is what is so special about the co-creative process.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My journey has not been an easy one. I didn’t just break onto the scene with instant success. I wore many hats throughout my lifetime, most of them not related to anything art or jewelry related. I battled with myself on and off throughout the years about how I fit into the world as an artist and whether or not people would pay for what I had to offer. I often times felt torn between getting a “real job” and finding a way to make my art a career. Looking back, all of that confusion and frustration came from within, but it was also necessary to some extent. Life has a flow of its own and sometimes it doesn’t always look the way we envision it. I look back now and see all of the paths I took that seem to wander away from my art and my dream of making it big with my art as leading me to fun and excitement on the way to the goal. I see my life’s wandering path as necessary and welcomed ventures that helped shape who I am as an artist and what I offer my clients and art. Seeing and experiencing the good, the bad and the ugly can quite often inspire you as a business owner or artist to move forward on your path. When we rise from the ashes, we can appreciate the ascent that much more. The best thing I have done is to never give up. I have taken breaks, breathers and regrouped but I have never given up.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The goal of Sentient by Loren Lavine is to offer positive energy to the world with my art and jewelry. As an artist and designer I want to create beauty where there is none and accentuate the beauty that already exists. Our worlds are always evolving so goals and missions change on this creative journey. I have learned to go with the flow in the sense that I have stopped trying to swim upstream. I know that if I don’t like the direction things are going, I have to make that change energetically first then from there I listen for clues on my next move. I trust that the Universe will bring to me the people and opportunities for our collective growth. So that said, my particular goal is to be aligned with the Universe so that my creative journey is always driving me in the most perfect direction.

Contact Info:

• Website: lorenlavinedesigns.etsy.com
• Instagram: @sentient_by_loren_lavine
• Facebook: sentientlorenlavine
• Other: Digital Download Art — LorenLavinePrintable.etsy.com Sentient by Loren Lavine website — LorenLavine.com