Shop Girl : Clyde's Rebirth

I didn't go into full detail in the last post and explain how obsessed I am with Clyde's Rebirth. I started  off as the shy girl looking from afar. I saw pieces on other bloggers and I timidly dreamed that one day I would have the confidence to wear some myself. In the beginning, I'll admit, I was a little wary of these pieces. As a self proclaimed plain jane Merl's pieces were a bit intimidating. Beautiful and architectural to look at, yes. Formidable and passionate, certainly. I wondered if I would gather up the courage to don one myself some day. 

 

As time went on the obsession grew. I began looking in the shop window more and more. Checking on my favorite pieces to make sure they were still there. It become quite clear that I needed to take the plunge, make the purchase, and run away with my vintage hand crafted pieces. We could live in the woods together and prance around in flowers and bubbling brooks. I would collect my meals from the meadow and ride my noble stead home at sunset.  (Too much? Oh well. Lua would love it and she would protect me from bears.)

I asked Merl to share some of her life and shop secrets. These are reasons you should take the plunge too. Seriously. Buy some. You will not regret it. (Merl is the little text)

About Shop, in the Beginning:

I was a very creative kid.. glancing through my childhood notebooks you would find sketches for my future clothing line, and lots of princess merl drawings complete with crowns and jewels on every appendage, not to mention blueprints for all of my many homes (my favorite was the one with a slide off the roof into the pool) When I wasn't doodling in my notebook, or on the walls of my bedroom, I was making my mom custom jewelry. Obviously I had talent even back then because she still wears some pieces. Fast forward to college where I went the web design route.. until I realized after graduation that I really didn't get along with HTML. After a brief torrid affair as a photography slave, I decided to try my hand at custom jewelry again. After a great initial customer response, I dove in head first. What's really great about starting my own jewelry line is that I have full creative control.. from the design to the photos that I take myself, to the descriptions. Control freak, who me?

Inspiration and Process:

As far as the design process goes, it's very.. organic. When I have designers block, I'll sit down with my sketch pad and just start doodling. When I come up with some versions that I think might work, I'll grab some chains and start piecing the item together on my old body form. A lot of it is trial and error. On paper, chains magically float in the air, when in reality gravity doesn't play that game. In the beginning, I was making necklaces that were all across the board.. there wasn't really a cohesive feel. It was great to see what sold and what people loved though. Now I try to make 4-5 pieces that serve as a mini collection every couple weeks. Although I've been a bad designer since getting back from vacay.. got to have an office to work in though!

  

The Future and the Favorite:

I could be super cryptic and say If I told you, I'd have to kill you.. but the truth is, I haven't exactly ironed it out yet. I have a lot of ideas as far as marketing and branding go, and I'm finally ready to relinquish some of that creative control and work with professionals to grow clyde's rebirth. As far as my favorite piece is concerned.. I would have to say my first belt buckle necklace that I made, and literally the first necklace that sold [[see below]]. I found the buckle at the Red Light vintage store in Seattle, and soldered on rings to connect the vintage chains to. I wore it around a wee bit before listing it in the shop, and almost didn't let it go because I got that many compliments on it. It went to a friend though, which made it a little easier on the heart strings.

So, that's Merl. And that's Clyde's Rebirth. What are you getting? She loves custom orders too. 


Merl's Blog - Clyde's Rebirth - Shop Clyde's Rebirth
Get into it. 
Merl! Thanks for answering all the questions and making things that are worth talking about.

On another Etsy note, Purva from Morado Shop just posted a few pictures of me on her facebook page. You can check that out here. Thanks Purva!