Riquelle crafts jewelry that reflects the love she has for beauty, joy and balance. Her intention is to help others find their beauty within and to have fun doing it.
Riquelle will be at the You Bazaar! This coming Sunday November 2nd at the San Francisco County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park.
You have two lines of jewelry, pretty fun and rxdesigns. Will you tell us a bit about each one?
Pretty fun is created using paper which allows me unlimited expression, life has the possibility to be limitless, so definitely jewelry can be. Pretty fun is made using wood, paper and a varnish, there are images on both-side of the wooden disc. The pieces are versatile, imaginative and amusing. Rx Designs is created using gemstones that I charge with healing energy to bring out the stones natural healing properties. The designs are simple, somewhat sexy, with a casual elegance.
Where do you look for creative inspiration?
Everywhere, including within. We take in so much though out our lives and I mirror back what pleases me.
Which part of jewelry making do you like best? The dreaming up ideas or the hands on creating part? For me they go together, so both. When creating jewelry, the ideas often come as I’m making item pieces.
I noticed that you work with a wide variety of material. Which are your favorites?
It’s tie between the gemstones and wood. Love gemstones and learning about their natural healing properties, been using the to create prescriptions jewelry with the Rx Designs line and also with Pretty Fun. And with Wood it’s the feel, smell and natural visuals that excite me.
I’m always interested in other peoples work habits and work spaces. Do you set specific work hours for yourself or work when you’re feeling creative? Are you super organized or messy? What does your workspace look like (include pictures if you like!)?
Lately I work all the time, but mainly I set specific work hours, it helps to get what I want accomplished plus deal with the other aspects that go with running a business. MESSY, most of the time, but super organized about once every 3 months when I do a big cleaning, which feels great, wish it would stay organized longer.
Your website www.riquelle.com mentions that you are a reiki master/teacher. That’s so cool! What came first for you – healing or creating? Do you see any parallels between the two?
Although I have natural healing abilities, I’d say creating came first. I began making jewelry when I was 15 and love the limitless possibilities. Reiki is a creative energy and I channel it when creating and doing everything else in Life. Being present, meditating, and allowing life to flow are some of the gifts I receive from creating.
You opened the Well Gallery in Oakland, can you tell us how that came about?
Remember to ask for what you want. By the end of 2007 I was tired of just doing craft fairs and working fulltime at an office, so I asked for a change, it went something like
“I can’t keep doing this, help me find something that will work better. Didn’t know the details of what I wanted, just knew it had to change. And in December a friend send an email asking if someone was interested in renting the space she had for her business that she was moving. You’re crazy, I thought but something kept pulling towards going for it, and so I did and the pieces fell into place, with help from friends, family, and the universe WELL opened February 29th 2008. Yes, it was a leap year. WELL features jewelry, clothing, accessories, art, healing services and products by local artist, indie designers, crafters and other creative types.
Who are some of your favorite indie artist/crafters and why do you love them?
Some of my favorite local artist are Heathen, Field Day, TuckyMama, Cut it out, Cozy Rampage, Greenbelts, The Weekend Store, Otterbody, Small Cynz, Necessary Voodoo, Culture Consumer. They all have a great design sense, reuse materials and expand upon the normal.
www.wellspacegallery.com
www.prettyfunjewelry.com
www.rxdesigners.etsy.com
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Minnie, the interviewer, also blogs about crafts at Thank You For Not Being Perky.
