Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amy Leff. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Amy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

I was married and divorced really young. He was my high school sweetheart and we were together most of my high school career and all of college. At the time, I didn’t know myself outside of him. He was the center of my world and I didn’t make any room for myself. Young love… it consumed me. I was always a creative soul… I grew up in Laguna Beach, CA. It’s a creative town where as a community they support their artists. Our high school mascot was “The Artists”. We had a wonderful art department and many of my childhood friends are also in the creative field. I grew up painting, drawing, beading jewelry, doing ceramics, learning the guitar, and doing a lot of jazz and tap dancing (it was the late 80″s). The creative energy was always around me, at school and at home. I even won an art scholarship for college, but I wasn’t able to use it since I didn’t continue taking art classes. I put all of my creative energy into my boyfriend/young husband. In my mind, he was the creative spirit and I was the one to support him. So antiquated, I know… When we divorced, I felt like it was MY time to “shine”. I was hurt and angry, all of my energy pushed and supported him toward success and I felt completely naked and left behind. The hurt was an understatement. We were together for 9 years, and in those 9 years he flourished and I sort of stayed the same. I was the first to sacrifice my own passions and put him first. Part of my healing process was changing my internal dialogue. If I could put all of the energy into him and he succeeded, then I could do the same for myself. What if I put all of that energy into me? I knew I’d be successful, because I’d already helped someone else do the same. I wrote a poem about “starting over”. I imagined myself walking on the beach at night and “throwing stars into the sky”.

Here’s the poem…

I felt so alone, all I did was cry
How was I supposed to get by?

The tears fell so freely
Because walking away wasn’t easy

You grew your wings so you could fly
While starting over for me felt so scary inside

I was mad, anxious, and heartbroken
Lonely, terrified, and frozen

I walked along the the shoreline and I looked into the night sky
I grabbed my bucket… my worries, fears, and my dreams inside

So dark, so vast, so big and unknown
How was I going to do this on my own?

I came out on the other side
A final tear and ready for a new life

I took a chance late one night
I threw those stars in the sky, I let those stars shine
And they shined so bright

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

I’m not sure if it’s my maiden name… Goldschmitt, aka gold-smith? Or whether it’s as simple as: I love jewelry and I want to make it. Whatever the case may be, jewelry is who I am. It’s not a “job,” it’s part of me. Even when I’m not actually in the studio, I’m constantly thinking jewelry. It’s one of the first things I look at when I meet you. I know I am supposed look someone straight in the eyes, but I find myself looking at your earrings or necklace first.
My jewelry love affair started in 2001. I was going through the process of making a lot of changes…new friends, new job; I had a new lease on life. I wrote, “Throwing Stars,” a poem about taking chances and making big changes and pressed the “do-over” button. And voilà, Throwing Stars Jewelry began on my dining room table!
I started beading after work, and I started taking classes at night to learn metalsmithing. It didn’t take much for me to learn how to solder and hammer. Throughout the past 20 years, my jewelry has evolved from beading to silver to goldfilled and now I’m moving closer to custom design and redesign for fine jewelry. I continue to learn new techniques such as Computer Aided Design (CAD) and to perfect stone setting techniques. There is always something new to learn! As I’ve grown as an artist, I am thrilled to expand my custom jewelry projects. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with individuals on designing their engagement rings, wedding bands, custom re-design work, and memorial jewelry.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an artist is of course the creativity!! What I love even more is brainstorming with a customer. Their ideas mixed with mine really push and challenge me in so many ways. Most days I get to use my hands. I solder, hammer, set stones and drill. I’m constantly on the move and I’ve even had assistants tell me that I flutter around my studio like a butterfly. I get to start from scratch with some wire or a sheet of metal, and then make something beautiful from that. If I’m designing on CAD, the ideas can truly start from a vision or a picture. Every day in my studio is completely different. I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Question not found

The struggle is real when it comes to being a creative and having a small business. There is usually a lot on the “to-do” list combined with the saying that “an artists work is never done”. The “to-do” list mixed with “an artists work is never done” creates a constant need to work and get tasks completed combined with the feeling that my work is never fully complete. It’s a tough place to be. I’m not sure if it’s researched, but I’m definitely more on the ADHD end of the spectrum. I can get so easily distracted, but if I’m working on a specific task, I will hyper focus. I’ll put my phone on silent and work all day on a specific project and sometimes skipping lunch. And if I’m distracted, that concentration and trajectory is lost for the day. There are specific techniques and certain ways of doing things. I’ve had to learn to pause my creative side so I can learn the techniques. There have been cases where I’ve needed to take the same exact class, twice because I wasn’t in the right headspace. A lot of people think that it must be so great to work for myself and be creative. I can listen to music or podcasts all day. But the reality for me is, I need complete quiet to concentrate. If I’m doing a mundane and repetitive task, sure I can listen to music, but often times I’m running the business part too.

Contact Info:

• Website: throwingstarsjewelry.com
• Instagram: @throwingstarsjewelry
• Facebook: throwingstarsjewelry
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChJDH-pvLld2jysHP6TCsxQ
• Other: amy@throwingstarsjewelry.com

Image Credits
Leah Perry Photography Leggy Bird Photography