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

Tessa , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I am lucky enough to have been able to be making a full-time living off of my art for about 10 years now it was a gradual transition process from my previous job as a disability care aid. I slowly transitioned from full-time to part-time, to one day a week as a care aid until I was confident enough to make the jump to being fully self-employed. I was very lucky to get in on the glory days of Instagram and Facebook when the organic reach was happening really fast and I was able to get a good fan base before the algorithm changed. It really would not have been possible without the Internet for me as a stay at home mom being able to reach people all over the world from my home has been a game changer for me and a lot of artists and we are now able to sell directly to our buyers and keep some of the profit that a middleman like a gallery/store/market fees would take which can be up to 50%. No shade on the galleries and the markets we need them, they are a vital part of helping artists connect to their people. It’s just a different model that doesn’t work for everybody. It’s been a fine balance of making what I want to make and making what I know and think will sell and then sometimes I make this weird thing that I wanna make that I’m pretty sure no one will like and everybody thinks it’s the best thing ever so I don’t really have any pearls of wisdom except for I think being unapologetically yourself and finding your voice as an artist will help you find your people sooner . . The only thing that you can do better than anybody else is be yourself..

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I originally designed a line of jewellery which I had produced in Bali and then came to work for a man named Martin Schmieg in 2007. He was quadriplegic and my job as his care aid was to act as his hands. He was incredibly motivated and he had taught himself how to Silversmith as a hobby . On my shifts with him, he showed me what he had picked up and together we kept on learning together for 10 years. I learned the craft having to adapt the tools for somebody with disability, and a lot of the processes took a lot longer having to assist somebody who has got a limited range of motion, but it was so rewarding and inspiring to see the motivation he had to create. Even with only limited motion in one shoulder blade, he still managed to create so much in his time here and touch so many people with the power of his mind and heart. I think it lit a fire in me that burns to this day. He passed away about seven years ago, but he always guides me and I work with all the tools that He left me and many of the stones that he left me.. Before I became a metalsmith. I was a 3-D animator, I have my masters in 3-D animation, but I realize that I do not want to spend my life sitting on a computer pulling points on a graph. One thing about the craft of working in metal is that it will last for thousand years, it’s not disposable, long after I’m gone, the work I leave will be used as a record to remember our culture of today. I also worked as a graphic designer heavily involved in the underground music festival, art fashion scene and I continue to draw a lot of my influence from those areas and reach a lot of my clients in those communities.. I like to make jewellery that is thought-provoking tells a story makes you laugh, that Looks magical and ancient, or like it naturally just formed from natural forces and you plucked it off a remote beach in the wilderness somewhere. Jewellery that would. would start a conversation or make you a new friend in the grocery store.. I don’t know how to describe my style because I don’t really have a style and I’m always trying new things and I work in a broad range of subject matter. I can make anything from a manatee to a dick in a box to a Egyptian scarab collar to a gigantic statement ring to traditional gold and diamond bridal jewelry. I love to carve my own stones and a big part of my passion for the craft comes from working with the stones and the perfection in nature that they represent. .. I love to make custom jewellery for unique exciting people. I enjoy working with people and hearing their stories to create the perfect piece of jewellery for them. I love beautiful things and I’m inspired by so many people and things I honestly feel like I have a never-ending fountain of ideas in my head and I just don’t have enough time to make them all. My studios swirling vortex of chaos with so many unfinished projects, my studio mate and shop assistant Zoey Stratis, is driven crazy by my insanity, thank goodness for her. She is the best. She is a big part of the reason why I’m able to keep this business going as she is very technical and organized where I am very flow as you go and disorganized. Together, we make the perfect metalsmith.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think the artist are such an important part of society, as we are the cultural memory that lasts when people are gone so its very important that artists be given the time and space they need to record history. We see in history, when a fascist regime takes over, and in politics one of the first things they do is censor art and create propaganda, because art is one of the most powerful ways we can connect with people. Artists need assistance to apply for grants and bursaries, which is what can be a big difference in getting someone off the ground like, I was able to get a grant to build my Shopify website and move away from Etsy, which was a great move for me.. but it’s really hard for us artist to do things like fill out all the paperwork you need to do to get a grant so if we could be somehow connected with people who could help us navigate that part of things I believe that would be a huge assistance to artist like maybe there’s like a collective of artists who have work they would trade for in exchange for assistance with paperwork for those looking to expand their art collection who are good with paperwork I don’t know. I see connections and ways to connect people, but I don’t know if my ideas are crazy or not. Art is important. Beauty is important. It can be the difference in what keeps somebody going through a really dark time.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I can’t say enough about all the awesome communities that can be found out there on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Metalsmith Society on Instagram is amazing. What Corky Bolton has built on Instagram with the community and all the tips is incredible, if you sat and read through all of her posts and had the resources to go and buy all the tools she recommends you would be pretty set up to start metalsmithing on your own. There’s so many awesome helpful people out there, who are happy to answer any questions if you get onto the right Facebook page. There’s one called jewellers helping out on Facebook. That’s pretty excellent and there’s lots of YouTube videos as we all know after Covid and the Zoom revolution, lots of jewellers are offering online courses via Zoom and I was lucky enough to take a course of Stone setting course via Zoom with Jim Dailing, which definitely helped and for someone like me who lives in a small rural community accessible only by Ferry boat, being able to take jewellery courses remotely is a game changer.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tessarand.com
• Instagram: @tessarandjewelry
• Facebook: Tessa Rand Jewelry

Image Credits

Katia Everett