I wanted to share a personal letter I sent to someone very special to me about 3 years ago. The original letter sent was in Spanish and it was part of an essay that she encouraged us to share, it's about starting a new journey and the beginning of what it is now a beautiful friendship.
four years ago...
Sitting at the airport with my bag on my lap, alone, thinking in the family I left behind, the trip that was going to change my life.
"Wow that’s so beautiful!" ( a woman told me while she looked at the jewelry that I made for my wedding, she caught me by surprise, I wasn't used to assimilate people talking to me in English so fast yet)
"Are you selling this?", she added.
No this is my wedding jewelry, I’m going to marry soon and I didn’t want to lose it so I carry it with me. And so on we continued our conversation, all of the sudden I realized that there were three more people admiring my jewelry and for a brief moment I forgot the sadness I felt being so far away from home.
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| Back in Lima painting a mural |
With the passing of the years, married and living in Utah, I felt the urge to create something with my hands, I missed my career as an interior designer and art has always been not only a part of me but who I am, so I started looking for that thing I was missing and I remembered that moment at the airport, those people admiring my jewelry, what I created...and suddenly it hit me!, I called my best friend: "mi mother", and with her help I started importing materials, anything that my mom thought I would like, and that's how "Exotic Peru Jewelry" was born: for the love to the beautiful land I call home, my roots, my mother and my memories. At the beginning I only did beading designs and sold at small parties at friends houses, then I got requests for custom orders and I even had my first show two days before having my son Connor.
As a new mom and with no family here I had many challenges and I had to stop designing but it was only for a short time because the happiness of having my baby gave me more strength to keep going and start the battle again.
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| My mother, my biggest fan with my kids in Peru last year |
As an artist I always try to reinvent and renew myself but never changing my essence, I learned new techniques, I had new goals and in addition to my Peruvian materials y incorporated materials from the U.S. "The best of both worlds" I said to myself.
After all this I still felt like I needed more, working more hours maybe?, more designs? I didn't have much money for a website, so I started my facebook page, I created my logo, sew tablecloths (for the shows), print tags and labels, anything I could do to save money for the business, I refused to think that I couldn't compete with other designers and the despair of wanting something with all my heart got to me but my biggest fan was with me, my mother and she told me: " have faith, don't give up, you will get there, you can do it" and with that I continued I saved money and bought everything I needed for the craft fairs.
When I discovered Mixed media and Vintage style a new journey started for me.
One night, tired and like always thinking what to do to be better, I discovered in the most unexpected place someone who made me look everything from a different angle, it was just where I needed to get.
With her videos, her laughter and the way she explained everything she became my workshop companion, she was the one I watched every night, she made laugh with her jokes and without her knowing she became my friend; that's you Brenda Sue, and I have to thank you for being you, for your lovely personality and your fabulous store that is now part of my creations, part of Exotic Peru.
Designing jewelry reflects the love of the ones who love me, it represents the sacrifice, not only of the hours late at night that I spend at my workshop, it also represents the long walks of my mother in my dear city "Lima" searching for the best materials for my creations, it represents my sweet husband cooking dinner after coming from work tired so I can continue to "create", what I mean is that all of them are my muse, their love is what makes me love even more what I do that is not only my art and passion but who I am, The way the believe in me is what puts a special touch in every one of my creations.
I want to keep moving forward, I want to keep learning techniques that will take me to discover something bigger, because it's my dream. I started back in Peru with a pair of old pliers and paper clips and because I wanted to be better I had learned to hammer brass and other metals, to paint not in a canvas anymore and although my hands are rough and full of cuts and my face has dark circles for lack of sleep, it doesn't matter I will not give up and I will keep learning and maybe someday I will have the blessing to get where you are my dear B'Sue.
Thank you for visiting,don't forget to check out www.bsueboutiques.com Brenda Sue and her amazing team are a big part of Exotic Peru Jewelry I'm honored to be on her Design Team. In 2012 she wrote the kindest post about me read it "here"
