We were lucky to catch up with Natalie Nebilak recently and have shared our conversation below.

Natalie, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I never intended to be a jeweler or a small business owner, yet here I am! I didn’t even know about sea glass until I moved to Ventura County at the end of 2014, and by 2016, I had a mountain of the stuff and the inspiration to make something pretty out of it. I was already working full time, so I started to teach myself how to silversmith by watching YouTube videos (so many videos) and by reaching out to other artists online, asking for any tips, tricks, and pointers they would be willing to share.

For years, I put off buying and experimenting with silversmithing because I was afraid. I was worried it would be too complex and expensive to start, and I wouldn’t be able to make the pieces I had seen in my mind. I was afraid no one would like them and no one would buy them. And yeah, I made a lot of mistakes when I first started. And making those mistakes was the fastest way I could have learned! I am SO glad that I was able to work past those fears because I love what I have been able to create and share.

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 grew up in Northern California in the Foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains along the American River. I spent much of my childhood wandering in the wildflowers and gazing up at the stars. When I moved to Ventura in 2014, I found an entirely new natural world to be encapsulated by and, like many other residents, began to collect sea glass from the beach. While mingling with other beachcombers, I noticed many ladies wearing sea glass jewelry, and I was spellbound by the luminosity and play of colors in these semi-transparent gems. I started making sea glass jewelry by drilling holes and wire-wrapping the sea glass, but always knew my goal was to become a silversmith. After a few years of drilling and wrapping, I decided it was time to take the plunge (pun intended) and, with encouragement from my husband, began my journey into silversmithing.

Being entirely self-taught has its ups and downs. Learning by making mistakes can take its toll on your patience -but it also does wonders for your confidence when you finally get it right!

My designs are always inspired by our natural world; sunsets, flowers, seasons, stars… I am in awe of it all. And it is this beauty I try to interpret through my work. I want the wearer of my jewelry to be able to take a sunset with them wherever they go, to find wonder in nature and appreciation for the magic that surrounds us.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Authenticity has been increasingly at the forefront of my mind. And more so, how can one be as authentic as possible in a social media sphere that is undoubtedly going to influence you? And I’m not talking about taking inspiration from other artists. But rather, not creating based on what you THINK other people will buy and instead, creating based on your authentic viewpoint. Because that is what is so special about art, right? If everyone were creating art based on what they thought other people would like to buy, no one would be creating authentic art, and I have to imagine everything would start to look the same.

I find that when I create a piece of jewelry that is 100% my vision and not impacted by how I THINK it will be received, I am the most happy with my work.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Stepping aside from the creative standpoint of my work, there is also business to attend to -which I struggle with on the daily. And again, being a 100% self-taught business owner, right from the start I had these notions that if I was going to start a business I had to be PERFECT. I had to have the perfect website, the perfect Instagram feed, the perfect product photography, the perfect everything! This is, of course, a failing mentality . No one is perfect, especially right from the start. But can you believe it has taken me YEARS to figure this out?? A super helpful small business resource I came across that helped me shift this perspective is the podcast “Imperfect Action” -the name kind of gives away the premise. Sometimes you just need someone else to splash some digital water in your face and say “HEY! You’re doing great! Nobody is perfect; you need to relax. Here are some tips to grow your business without killing you”… or something like that lol.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mountainbeachfit.com
• Instagram: @mountainbeachseaglass
• Facebook: @mountainbeachseaglass