We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stacey Shevlin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stacey below.

Stacey, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

In 2016 my partner and I packed up our house in LA and spent what was meant to be a year abroad in Europe. We worked from home and travelled to a new city each Month. If you’re wondering– no that’s not the risk I am about to share. 1/2 way through we had to leave the Schengen Zone ( this is the border free travel zone you probably think of at Europe if you don’t travel a ton) at any rate, those with a US passport can stay for 90 out of an ever moving 180 day window, then must leave for the next 90 days… it’s utterly confusing and super oldschool. At any rate we found ourselves in Croatia, which at the time was in the EU but not the Schengen Zone. When we left the US we had ZERO intention of staying in Europe, the idea was to get a new perspective, see new things, grow and decide what was next for us when we got back. Well — here’s where the risk comes in. We wound up falling in love with a tiny town on an island and after 5 days of being there and making friends — we bought a total rehab project. It took several months for the deal and paperwork to go through but in March of 2017 we went back to start renovations. We were very starry eyed and naive in our timeline and are still working on the house to this day. I was feeling a bit disappointed in how long this project has taken and how INSANELY hard it’s been, but I decided to reframe, and count the actual amount of time we’ve spent actually working on the house and it’s just about 9 months. Yes ( out of 7 years) but it’s something to keep us going. One of the big reasons I make wooden jewelry is because of the extra materials and access to scrap that I use to create my designs…. but more on that later.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Stacey -Hi. I make handcrafted jewelry, and I incorporate wood into most of my designs. I often use scrap wood from my home renovation projects, and olive wood which would otherwise be scrapped that I get from Croatia. My designs are all very lightweight statement pieces.

My company, Madera Design Studio’s Jewelry was created for culturally engaged people who seek to express their creative spirit through their accessories. We create handcrafted wooden jewelry that, unlike mass-produced accessories, tells a unique story and starts conversations about art, sustainability, and personal style. Our pieces are also perfect for gifting, as we understand that each gift we give is an extension of our own style and values.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Preface: still unlearning – work in progress :) As someone new to selling physical products … I work primarily on set in commercial production, and prior to that was an actor, worked in advertising, publishing and project management for coaches. I thought I could use all of my cumulative knowledge from my many professional endeavours and mold it into my new journey. I was wrong – and have no problem admitting it. This path is so very different than anything I’ve done before. The learning curve has been massive, from building my online store, to marketing, email flows, SEO, purchasing materials — it’s been very eye opening. I have been taking classes for the last year from many different teachers and am still learning, I think I always will be as things are ever changing.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

I am so fortunate that I have an amazing community of friends. My friends are my family and they are so supportive. They have purchased my work and shared it with others, they have referred me and bought items as gifts, they are my support squad for sure. I know not everyone has that and I am forever grateful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.maderadesignstudio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maderadesignstudio
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maderadesignstudio