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

Dana, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I’ve known for a long time, but I wasn’t ready until last year. My folks wanted to persuade me to become an engineer since I was decent at math and technical drawing. The problem I had was test taking anxiety and not being able to get accepted into a good college right away. I eventually transferred to UGA, which is a great school, but I already switched to a more artistic career path.

I thought graphic design should be a good fit for me. I wasn’t terrible at it, but I wasn’t good enough to get accepted into the program at UGA. Not long after that I took an intro to jewelry course. I started making my own jewelry in high school. I remember one time traveling with my family, we went to an art market, and I was very interested in that lifestyle. I spoke with one artist who made chainmail jewelry. She was making a bracelet while I was talking to her, and I thought “I can do that”. So I started teaching myself how to make these chainmail bracelets and eventually got tired of making those, but I would periodically create necklaces from found objects. I’m a goblin, so when I see shiny objects on the ground I pick them up. This made me think jewelry was a good class for me to take.

It didn’t take long for me to realize I was a natural at making jewelry. At first I was very intimidated by the torches and the saws, but with practice it all became second nature to me. Professor Mary Pearce did not hesitate to accept me into the program. She later tried to get me into bench jewelry, but she also knew I would make a great product designer. A few years after I graduated I became a bench jeweler, even though it didn’t feel like want I really wanted.

Bench jewelry mostly involves repairing jewelry and making jewelry someone else designed. I’m not going to lie, I learned so much as a bench jeweler. I liked it the most while I was still learning, but it got to a point where we were so understaffed, there was no time for learning, and I was so burnt out. I wasn’t paid enough for all the work I was doing, I decided it was time to leave and do my own thing.

So many people discouraged me from quitting without having a job already lined up. A few people, like my mom, told me to save up enough money so I can take care of myself without income for a while, and that’s what I did. I know I could find a better job, but why do that when I can work for myself? Sure, it’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of work to be a bench jeweler while also being underpaid. Before I quit, I had done a decent amount of art markets, and they brought me so much joy. I have social anxiety, but when I see how excited my customers are, all that stress melts away.

So I knew from when I was a teenager, this is what I wanted to do. I didn’t know how to get there, but I’ve learned so much along the way

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

I sort of stumbled into the jewelry industry. I was making my own jewelry right out of college, but it wasn’t paying the bills. My ex actually found out about a bench jeweler position through a friend she was cat sitting for. I’m terrified of interviews, so my first one didn’t go so well because I was “bad at eye contact”. My ex’s friend didn’t let me give up so I kept trying and eventually got the job. I had only taken one bench jewelry class in college. Art jewelry and bench jewelry are a bit different. I basically went from a coppersmith to a goldsmith. I learned a ton on the job and I was a natural, but I mostly did ring sizing, chain repair, and lots of polishing.

I eventually grew tired of the work and having to do a lot more outside of my job description due to lack of employees. I thought “why don’t I just do all this work for my own business”. I honestly wasn’t a huge fan of the jewelry industry in general. Diamonds are overpriced and the price of gold just keeps going up. I wanted to make jewelry I liked, and I wanted it to be affordable. It was time to look for some alternative materials.

I wanted to do something different, so I thought “bone jewelry”. I came across antler as a medium because it was accessible, abundant, and it’s technically bone. The more I worked with it, the more I fell in love with antler. It’s very durable, lightweight, and looks like marble when polished. It’s not the only type of bone I work with though.

Living in Georgia, you find a lot of road kill, and it’s mostly opossums. I love opossums, almost as much as I love bats. I guess you could say I have an affinity for creatures so ugly and odd looking, they’re cute! Anyway, I decided to collect the bones from these unfortunate critters. I won’t purchase bones, especially when I don’t know how the animal died. I scavenge and clean the skeletons myself. At least with antler I know they either fell off a deer in a the winter, or the deer was hunted for it’s meat. Obviously I’m not vegan, but I do not kill animals. I do understand the importance of hunting deer, since there are such massive populations of them.

I honestly don’t remember which came first: the name Crypt Smyth, or my bone jewelry. I think it all came together around the same time. It felt like fate. I ended up with a punk/goth/goblincore aesthetic. After going full time with my art, I slowly incorporated more and more stainless steel jewelry, along with some copper and silver since that’s what I was working with right out of college. I love how inexpensive and hypoallergenic stainless steel is. It also fits the vibe perfectly.

I would not have been able to make the jewelry I make today without my artistic journey. I carve my antler with the same types of tools I used as a bench jeweler. I mainly use my jeweler’s saw, a flex shaft/micro motor, and a hacksaw. I like being able to make my jewelry without a ton of tools because I eventually want to take my workshop on the road and travel instead of being tied down to one place.

Despite what others may say about my career choices, I’m proud of myself for taking a big risk in quitting my stable job to pursue what I love. I listened to my intuition, and I don’t regret it. I now have an amazing community of artists who care about me and help me out along the way. We all look out for each other, because that’s how it should be. I’m very thankful for event coordinators like Sudnat and Cryptid Creatives, without them I wouldn’t be able to do what I do for a living.

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

Society needs to invest more in art education. I was lucky to have parents who were very supportive of mine and my sister’s artistic abilities. When a child shows interest and talent in the arts, they have so much potential to grow as a successful artist. Even if that child doesn’t become an artist, they will have creative thinking and be able to see the world differently from the rest. Art is about expression, individualism, and entertainment. It can be used in so many ways, whether it changes the opinion of an extremist, or makes someone feel like themselves when they wear that art.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Seeing the way people react to my work is so rewarding to me. I haven’t tried to sell much of my pieces online, because I like seeing my customers in person. They constantly remind me that I made the right choice in my career. I struggle with imposter syndrome. When I do a pop-up market in East Atlanta Village for example, passers by will tell me how great or different my art is and I feel like I’m making something the community has been searching for.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @cryptsmyth
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cryptsmyth

Image Credits
Victoria Beck, Caity Marie