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

Hi Staci, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Hi and thanks for having me. I’d say the biggest risk I took was starting my business in the first place. Juniper Bay Metals was born in 2014, after many years of daydreaming and planning how I might make my love of metalsmithing front and center in my work life. I first fell in love with the craft when taking my first metal jewelry making class in college. It was 1998, and I was a 20 year old art school student mostly studying painting & drawing at the time. When I walked into the metals studio, I immediately felt drawn to the tools of the trade, and the sounds of a busy workshop environment. My energetic professor allowed room for play and experimentation on the materials. I eventually found enameling, which allowed me to express my love of color and painterly skills, creating a nice transition from painting on canvas to metal. I began to love the process of forming and fabricating precious metals, and setting gemstones into my pieces. Though very tedious and frustrating initially, and sometimes still, the feeling of the accomplishment of holding a tangible item I had created was amazing, and could be cherished and worn/enjoyed by others for years to come.

For many years after graduating from the fine arts program at East Carolina University, going into a career of jewelry design was not a viable option for me. This was in the early 00’s, in a “pre-Etsy” world, before the makers movement and resurgence of the appreciation of handcrafted goods. I worked a series of part time jobs, initially service and retail, then non-profits before becoming full time work with the City of Raleigh’s arts centers, and eventually moving into parks and facility management. All the while I was slowly acquiring jewelry tools and equipment, but was only working in my tiny studio only as time allowed, making wedding rings here and there, and jewelry for the one or two shows/markets I’d participate in each year.

In late 2013 I took a couple of weeks leave from my job to have space and time to really think about how I might make a leap from my administrative desk job to working as a full time artist. My soul craved more and I wanted to actualize my dreams. This seed of “sea change” had been firmly planted, but it took another six months and the shocking, sudden death of a very close friend to propel me into real action. I was reminded how short life was. My career was unfulfilling and lacked the creativity I needed to feel whole. It was up to me to change that.

In the spring of 2014, I made my exit plan and resigned from my full time gig that June. I had the support of my husband and picked up part-time work to supplement my income while working to build inventory and set up my business, Juniper Bay Metals. Like many small art-based businesses, I initially relied on family, friends, friends-of-friends, and local customers to gain a foothold. I created a bare-bones website, opened business accounts, and became active on Instagram, marketing my work to an organically growing group of followers. I began participating in local and regional pop-ups and festivals where I would begin to establish relationships with new customers. It was such hard work with long hours and not a lot of return, initially. However, each year proved more profitable than the last, which has continued the 8 years JBM has been in existence. It has taken a lot of sacrifice and energy to get to this point but, for me, this has been worth it all. Having control over my schedule and the direction of my business has meant so much for my mental and physical health. The relationships with clients and other working artists have provided an abundance of support and community that is truly priceless to me. Best risk I’ve ever taken!

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 background and context?

I’m Staci Sawyer Phebus, the one-woman show behind Juniper Bay Metals, an independent jewelry design/metalsmithing studio in Raleigh. I make all the jewelry, run the business day-to-day, market my work, communicate with customers, and manage my website plus all the little things that can pop up with a small business. My current work focuses on a range of everyday jewelry with one-of-a-kind pieces being the most fun and important work for me, creatively speaking. I mostly work with silver, gold, and a variety of colorful semi-precious and precious gemstones. My style is organic, inspired by the natural world, the materials, and the look of ancient jewelry. Process is everything to me, working through designs and my intentions as I create each piece by hand, hammer, and flame.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

In a fast paced, very online world I feel we are most in need of returning to the earth, and to art and craft as a means to connect with our inner selves and the world around us. Taking a few moments to soak up the process by witch artisans create their work touches a place inside us that I feel digital environments cannot. I believe an artist’s energy, care, and time comes through the work and can be enjoyed/appreciated on a level that manufactured goods lack. In my experience, once folks learn what is really involved in creating art, the appreciation is solidified and will forever be intriguing.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I’m currently working on a plan to pivot my business going into 2023. Over the past several years, especially since the pandemic began, I have taken on a lot of custom work, creating one of a kind pieces to commemorate life events, to memorialize loved ones, and to celebrate milestones. While I truly do love this way of working, it takes a lot of energy and time. At the moment, I am considering how I can set parameters around the amount of custom work I take on, in order to open up more space for me to create original pieces. As many of us makers did during 2020, I took some time off of participating in in-person markets; I’m ready to get back out there with my work. I miss traveling around the region and meeting new people along the way. Focusing less time and energy on custom work will allow me to keep up inventory levels for shows and my online shop, while keeping my retail stores/galleries stocked with jewelry.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.juniperbaymetals.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juniperbaymetals/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stacisawyerjewelry

Image Credits
Staci Phebus