Featured Artist HrtsMom

There is something so special about belonging to a creative family! Everyone appreciating work that goes into handmade and encouraging a child to explore can truly lead to great things. Trina was blessed to be born into just such a family; with a mother who had a side business of decorating cakes as well as embroidery and siblings who are both visual artists as well as a father she describes as a “tinkerer” who could figure things out…which by the way, is an art in and of itself!

Trina, surrounded by all this wonderful creative energy has happily joined in the tradition. She is multifaceted and has self published eight books; six novels and two short-story collections as well as created a wonderful jewelry business. She loves to read; mostly Sci-fi; music, and working in her garden as well as “collecting” (which sounds like a story in itself).

Trina began working with beads almost by accident. She used to have power bracelets with different gemstones and such strung on elastic thread that she loved. Over time, as happens, they began to fray and break. Rather than toss the beads, she found a way to restring them in different combinations. Her cousin gave her a small kit with beading wire which opened up a new range of possibilities for designs! Since that time, Trina has powered forward seeking out new designs and materials to work into her designs. Before too long, she found that she had created so much she was running out of room and HrtsMom was born.

The majority of Trina’s jewelry began as natural materials such as gemstones and wood because she felt a connection to the natural world. As she has grown and her techniques have improved, Trina has begun to move into the realm of steampunk by incorporating chains and industrial materials into her designs. She says this type of design reminds her of the times her brother would play with his Erector sets. Of course, as an avid reader and author, Trina has to incorporate paper in her work by making and using paper beads in some of her designs.

HrtsMom began on Ebay where she found herself swallowed up in the massive amount of stuff. Rather than be discouraged, Trina set out to find other venues to show off her talent. She fondly remembers being so proud of her first sale; a pair of earrings; and allowing this wonderful experience to encourage her to keep learning and creating telling herself in her journal that she was “finally a professional!”

Trina loves selling her work, knowing that people find her work and love it enough to pay for it is a bit of a high. The downside, well, sometimes we all find that the one piece that sells happens to be one of our favorites. Trina has found this and almost cancelled a sale when a bookmark with a special Dr. Who charm attached sold. Ever the smart businesswoman, Trina realized that she had to send the bookmark to its new home.

Half the fun of creating is sharing your creations, so Trina happily encourages those that would like to jump into selling their handcrafted items. Her work can be found on various venues including HandmadeArtists of course, as well as Silkfair and Etsy. You can follow her work on Facebook and even find her books on Lulu!

Tags: beads, bracelet, feature, featured artist, Handmade, hrtsmom, jewelry, metal, necklace, steampunk