We recently connected with Brandi Moss and have shared our conversation below.

Brandi, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

Well I started creating as a teenager, I didn’t really hone in on my creativity. It was always more of a hobby for me and I am 100% self taught. I wish I had taken time when I was younger and explore classes to learn various techniques. I think if I had spent more time and effort learning other skills when I was younger I would be in a different place than I am today. Not that it’s a bad thing being where I’m at in this point of my life,but I think I might be further along in my career had I done things a little bit differently. Social media didn’t exist 30 years ago when I was starting out and that has made a huge impact in the way small businesses operate in todays world.

Brandi, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I always had a passion for arts and crafts. I was intrigued with jewelry from a fairly young age and always wanted to figure out myself how to re-create some thing and make it my own. I started making jewelry in my teens and in my early 20s began selling at craft shows, to friends at work and by word of mouth. My focus initially was doing bridesmaid jewelry and that became kind of my niche for a while. I changed my style several times over the years in an effort to stay relevant which can be very challenging. I have always taken pride in that I create one-of-a-kind pieces and try not to duplicate. I have been told that creating in this manner was not going to get me a lot of sales because people liked the same thing offered in different colors or different stones. But for me I didn’t get enjoyment out of making the same thing over and over. I like to try new techniques and challenge myself all the time.
After years of trying to figure out what I really wanted my style to be labeled as it really came down to being a mix of eclectic yet cohesive pieces. I love including a variety of elements in my designs including celestial elements, natural stones, various metals, botanicals & glass combined with different techniques from stringing to wire wrapping to hammered pieces. I began including resin with my jewelry around three years ago and that has allowed me to include a lot of natural elements in my work and truly create pieces that are one of a kind and what I feel is different from what’s out there on the market. I want people to feel like they own a little piece of artwork and really enjoy wearing it and feel good while they’re wearing it. I want the buying experience to be fun and like you’re getting a gift from a close friend. Having a personal touch is really important to me and connecting with customers in that way has been such a great blessing. I truly put my heart and soul into every piece I create and I really want that to translate into my work.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is knowing there are people out there who truly appreciate the time and effort you put into your work. Not everybody is going to like it or buy it but I think just being appreciated for taking the time and effort to create something is really special. And it’s always a bonus to have repeat customers and have your brand recognized. That was a struggle for me for many years and in the last four years I have really focused on my brand and making it recognizable. There is nothing better than having a customer make a purchase at a show because they recognize your work. That is the ultimate compliment in my book.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Building social media can be very daunting. While I don’t have thousands of followers my goal is to be as authentic as possible and grow my social media audience organically. It’s definitely something that you have to put time and effort into and you have to be consistent.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.melrosebling.Etsy.com
• Instagram: @melrosebling
• Facebook: Melrosebling