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

Pamela, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

One of the riskiest thing’s I’ve felt I’ve ever done was believe in myself the way others already did. It sound’s like a super cliche answer but when you grow up with the constant messaging that you’re not enough, its really hard to do that! I may sometimes present a loud and extroverted personality but I don’t like to be perceived. I am very shy about myself and putting my art out there to essentially be consumed by others in one way or another felt terrifying. Sometimes when I’m “screaming, crying, throwing up” my way though my quarterly sales tax, I think about to the first messages from friends asking to buy the earrings I started to make for fun and relaxation, and how three years later I’m still here. Of course the journey hasn’t been easy and I’m not running a billion dollar company but wow, I did that. I just had the audacity to start a business in the middle of a global pandemic where everything else seemed to be on fire. I am amazed at myself sometimes. As a working class person, to take whatever little hard earned money I had and invest it into something I literally had 0 experience or guidance for was a big risk. But I am forever grateful I did because I have grown so much as a person and have been able to connect with so many other amazing artists and creatives as well.

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 am a Paraguayan creative living in NYC. I make jewelry by hand through different mediums such as polymer clay, wire wrapping, lacemaking and more.

I began this journey in late 2019, early 2020. I had just turned 21 and had began to feel more confident in the ways I wanted to explore self expression. I had become obsessed with trying to find the most unique earrings out there and eventually I realized that I could just make what I wanted. It was very exciting to make my ideas come to life in my hands and then get to wear them! I was also going through a big period of grief (just as many other folks during the pandemic) and needed something joyful to hang onto.

I love working with something so versatile as polymer clay because I can create all different shapes and styles. I tend to go for more “creative” pieces like little cowboy earrings, froggies kissing and even a MTA Subway line collection. I draw my inspiration from my desire to welcome more joy and silliness into my life. Life is hard for everyone, sometimes a fun little accessory is what you need to get you through the day.

I have also begun incorporating traditional Paraguayan Lace Art called Ñanduti. Ñanduti com from the Guarani word “Spiderweb”, as the lace making process mimics intricate webbing patterns. As someone who migrated to the US when I was five, its been hard to be able to connect with my culture. There are not a lot of Paraguayan people out here, not in the same way you can easily find other latino communities across the city. I also have a very specific experience of being a DACA-mented immigrant who can’t easily travel back to my home country whenever I want. Experiencing displacement is one of hardest forms of grief I have had to deal with. It’s forever constant in my life and I really wanted to cope with that through my jewelry making. I found videos on YouTube and taught myself, I’m still learning but it has been a very cathartic process.

Pink Cove Treasures started out as a way to celebrate myself.I wanted to share that little act of joy with others. A lot of my inspiration comes from the playfulness of my inner child. Honoring her creativity and curiosity through creating has been a very beautiful journey.It’s hard to slow down and enjoy the little things. These treasures are for the people who deserve a little extra reminder of all the abundant love the universe has for them.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Amazon has warped your sense of value. Slow production is GOOD, slow art is GOOD. Slow is good, slow is healthy, slow allows for more. In a world where you constantly need to be producing something to be consumed in order to stay relevant, it’s so hard to take your time. Sometimes takes weeks or months to find inspiration + energy to be able to create something with intention. I find it hard to keep up with constantly changing trends for both styles + online marketing. I wish people had more patience to wait. Not everything can be done in 1-2 business days.

To create something is a very powerful process, especially when it’s something people are going to wear on their body. I believe that energy is very important and that we can exchange energy amongst each other in many different ways. I try to put a lot of love into my creations which means I try to not create when im feeling down. And to be real, sometimes that’s really frequent for me. Like I said before, life is hard.

I hope that other artists have the courage to take breaks and prioritize their rest and not just produce for the sake of keeping up with an algorithm.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Autonomy!!! Having creative autonomy has been such rewarding experience. I grew up with a lot of rules to have to follow and very high expectations. Art has allowed me to just be free to do whatever I want. This has been so important for me as a young adult graduating into a pandemic because I have had to completely alter and change my life. The pandemic robbed me of many things, and because I dived into mi creative self I have been able to cope with that.

I believe creativity is important for social change, how can we build a better world if we can’t even imagine it.

Contact Info:

• Website: pinkcovetreasures.com
• Instagram: @pink.cove
• Tiktok: @pink.cove

Image Credits
Headshot taken by Evelyn Martinez product photography taken by me