We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Laura Sanno a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Laura, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been an artist and maker. It began with drawing every evening on the legal pads my father brought home for me and watching my mother work magic at her sewing machine. Dad and I visited the museums in nearby Manhattan and Mom taught me how to sew and knit. They both encouraged me when I left for college to study fine art and art history.

I flew home for Christmas each year and as a starving art student I decided to give handmade gifts to my family and friends. I’d always been interested in herbs and botanicals and when I discovered a book with recipes for handmade potpourri I pounced! I sewed a collection of sachets and filled them with my fragrant blends of herbs and flowers. They were a big hit and became a Christmas tradition!

Years later I was home recovering from surgery, frustrated by my confinement and feeling restless. Suddenly a lightbulb went on over my head! I got to work and opened an online shop called Scents and Memories that sold a variety of potpourri and sachets. One of my new offerings were sachets shaped like a corset and trimmed in lace and ribbon. They quickly became a favorite, especially as favors for bachelorette parties. I shipped one order directly to Las Vegas, where a customer’s friends were gathering!

One Christmas I decided to add a little sparkle to my sachets and discovered some lovely brass charms to string on each sachet’s satin ribbon. I visited online supply shops regularly and on one fateful day I discovered charms inspired by the fluid lines of the art nouveau period. I’d been in love with 19th century painting since high school, and my room was filled with concert posters inspired by Alphonse Mucha and a print of John William Waterhouse’s Hylas and the Nymphs hung over my bed.

I began making necklaces and as my creative juices flowed I added additional elements and the pieces became more complex. I learned by doing and loved every minute! Eventually, I’d created a collection of necklaces and earrings. I was delivering a sachet order to a local gift shop and I asked the owner if she’d have a look at my jewelry and give me some feedback. She examined each piece and immediately placed a $300.00 order! An antique glass cabinet featured my jewelry and my new business, The Artful Jeweler was born!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve been an artist since the first time I picked up a crayon! My father attended the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan and I enjoyed our frequent trips to the many museums and galleries there. My mother’s father opened the first women’s coat and suit factory in Passaic, NJ and she taught me to sew and knit. The creativity that surrounded me and my own artistic gifts led me to study fine art in college. During this time I was lucky enough to live outside of Florence, Italy for a summer and also the following year. Seeing paintings I’d only seen in slideshows was an incredible experience!

My love of fine art and painting was always a part of my life as the years passed. After my daughter’s birth I painted wooden decor and furniture at home and also sold trays and wooden boxes that I decoupaged. I became a docent at a nearby museum, and when my daughter was in grammar school I became the “Picture Lady,” visiting classrooms to introduce artists and their paintings to the students.

Today I create jewelry that celebrates the 19th century paintings I love as well as necklaces and earrings inspired by favorite period of design, the art nouveau era. My “signature” necklaces feature glass-domed pendants that I create using images from classic paintings and illustrations. I love finding the perfect setting to “frame” each pendant and using the painting’s palette to add accents that enhance the necklace. I was blessed with a keen sense of color and design that serves me well when I’m working on a piece of jewelry. I’m also a perfectionist, so my work must not only please the eye, it must be well made.

I use Instagram as the “gallery” for my jewelry. I alternate my work with pictures of paintings and other relevant subjects, such as fabric designed by Williams Morris or a photo of an artist’s model. I’ve found a way to share my knowledge of art history with my followers, which is deeply gratifying for me. I include an “art lesson” with my posts and I enjoy sharing my passion and learning more myself, when I do research. I now accept custom orders and love the collaborative aspect in these projects! A client will send me a favorite painting of theirs, I’ll create the glass-domed cabochon and send them suggestions for the setting and other components of the piece. Nothing is more satisfying than hearing from a customer who’s thrilled with her purchase! My work is truly a labor of love.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When my daughter was three, I went back to college to become a certified teacher. I was newly divorced, loved children, learning, and art and I realized a teacher’s schedule would be compatible with raising my daughter. I headed to Barnes & Noble and read the American employment forecast, which stressed the need for public school teachers, because a large segment of the workforce would soon be retiring.

It wasn’t easy to be both a mom and a student; most nights I didn’t begin my homework until 9PM. But it was worth it. Filled with pride as my daughter looked on, I graduated. Soon after I received my teachers certification in both art and K-8 general education.

I was hired at a private school and taught Kindergarten for two years. My dream had come true! And then it happened. The owners sold the school and it was reimagined as a day care center. Instead of my 8AM-4PM schedule, I was told I’d need to work rotating shifts, some days beginning at 7AM and others until 7PM. It was impossible for me to do so with my young child.

My search began for a public school teaching position. I’d have a manageable schedule, wonderful healthcare benefits and a pension once I retired. I polished my resume and set out to fill one of the many positions the retiring teachers would leave behind. My dream was coming true, or so I thought.

Teachers didn’t retire. The economy kept most of them in the classroom. If a position was advertised, an average of 400 resumes were submitted. And, unfortunately, there was nepotism at play. I was stunned, angry and heartbroken. I needed a new career plan and I wasn’t sure where to start.

One day I took my daughter to an ice cream parlor in a town close to our home. It was a favorite place of ours and we sat at one of the bistro tables outside. I looked across the street at an large, empty shop with a poster on the front door. I decided to have a look at it on our way back to the car, and in the blink of an eye I discovered an opportunity! A well known, high-end home furnishings company was opening a store and they needed a staff of decorators.

I was stunned and excited when I realized I could apply. I’d worked at the Laura Ashley flagship Home store in Manhattan – the first job I was ever offered because of my hand weaving portfolio. The artist in me was thrilled and I loved going to work each day. It wasn’t only a wonderful experience, it gave me “cred!” I hadn’t thought that a similar position would ever arise, but it had and I was hired.

My first dream hadn’t come true, but I now had a new profession. Once again, I enjoyed every workday and was deeply satisfied when my clients were thrilled with our collaborations. I took trips into the city each week, to visit the “D&D,” where I was surrounded by textiles and wallpaper of the highest quality. It was heavenly! I was a designer and it made my artist’s heart sing! And it provided the income I needed to support my daughter and myself. As they say, one door closes and another one opens, sometimes when you least expect it!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

In my early childhood, my parents praised the drawings I made and told me I was talented. I took classes at a local art school and was known as “the artist” in my grammar school. When I moved on to high school I began painting and regularly visited nearby Manhattan’s many museums and galleries.

It was at that time when my mother began telling me there was no way to support myself as an artist. She insisted that I take a typing class and I rebelled by typing random letters as the background music played. (I’m surprised I passed the course!) I went off to college as a fine arts major and the warnings continued.

After graduation it pained me to admit my mother was right. I worked hard at jobs I tolerated and the artist within me began to slip away. As time went by I became angry that I was wasting my time and losing my identity. I decided to move to Manhattan, where I enjoyed a bounty of museums and art galleries. I was working full time at a desk job again and began fantasizing about finding work that would satisfy me. A friend brought me to the gala opening of the Laura Ashley Home store and I suddenly I was in heaven! The shop was in a three story brownstone building filled with antique cupboards and tables that served as display pieces. I loved the colorful textiles, wallpaper and home decor pieces. This was my idea of an “office!”

The weekend came and I dove into the Sunday Times, having a look at the classified section to see the “Help Wanted” section. And there it was, an ad for a position at Laura Ashley Home. I was stunned and also determined to apply for the position, even though I had no experience. I was granted an interview, so I dressed in clothing that reflected the company’s aesthetic and decided to bring along my weaving portfolio.

I’d always done well at interviews, but this one was a bit daunting. (I had some retail experience, or I wouldn’t have applied at all.) As the interview with the shop’s manager drew to an end I mentioned my portfolio and she carefully examined every page. “You have a wonderful sense of color,” she said and also responded favorably to my experimentations with a wide variety of materials, including ribbon and lace.
Three agonizing days later I received a call offering me the job. I was ecstatic! I was also deeply satisfied when the manager told me it was my portfolio that led her to choose me. (Lesson unlearned!)

One day I returned from lunch wearing a scarf I’d made. I had an appointment with a client and she’d arrived early. She complimented me and my scarf and asked more about my weaving. She explained that she was opening a shop selling a variety of woven items. I invited her to my apartment to see more of my work and when she left I had my first wholesale account. (Lesson unlearned again and forever!)

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @theartfuljeweler