Featured Artist – ‘Twas Brillig

“Often found tinkering with things probably best left alone. Happy when playing with power tools and/or wire cutters. Bead-a-holic. Shutterbug. Will spray paint anything that doesn’t move. Runs with scissors.”
‘Twas Brillig was born in October 2008.  My  name is Nancy Rawlinson and I left behind a 15 year career in banking to pursue my dream of opening a retail store chock full of handcrafted goodies!  I’m a self-taught designer who creates unusual jewelry pieces and naturalistic silk floral designs at my studio shop in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

My creative “business” life began several years ago when I started making silk floral arrangements and selling them at a local hair salon. The jewelry making began when my mother picked up a copy of Stringing magazine, saw a necklace she liked and told me that I could make it for her. So, I bought the magazine, ordered up the bits and made the necklace for her. I was instantly  hooked!!  Much later she revealed that she was joking around that day and that it went right over my head. I’m very glad that, for once, I didn’t get the joke because it allowed me to bring my dreams to life!

My handcrafted jewelry designs typically incorporate semi-precious gemstones, ceramic beads & pendants, sterling silver, lampwork beads, beautiful Czech pressed glass beads and Swarovski crystals. I’m fascinated by wire wrapping, chainmaille and lapidary art and hope to pursue each of those design areas in turn! To be honest, although the jewelry is the primary focus, my whole shop is literally hobbies gone wild and when you walk in you will see silk floral arrangements, handsewn bags, photography, hand-cast clay ornaments, pet toys, woodcrafts and papier mache critters.  I like to dabble in a wide variety of media and strive to learn new techniques whenever I can.

Tags: artisan jewelry, hand-cast clay ornaments, handcrafted, handmade jewelry, handsewn bags, jewellery, jewelry, silk floral arrangement, woodcrafts

Posted in Handmade Harbor