Artisan Interview: Brittany of Catching Wildflowers Jewelry

Today, I'm so excited to bring another fab artisan interview to you... Brittany Prochaska, of Catching Wildflowers Jewelry and Wandering Bohemians. Such a sweet soul with enormous energy and creativity. It has truly been a blessing, to me, to have had the opportunity to get to know this remarkable artist.


Me: Tell me a little bit about when you decided to go “pro” in the sense of when you decided to dedicate yourself to your art/business. Give us a little example of what that meant to you. (What pushed your creating from amateur level to professional?) 

Brittany: My daughter was 7 months old and was just starting to sleep in her crib on her own in the evenings. I was accepted into nursing school and decided to stay home with my daughter. It just popped into my head one night that I wanted to start creating jewelry again. As a little girl I was always asking for art supplies; I had more paint brushes and bead cases then you could imagine. I used to watch and help my grandmother paint plaster crafts and always felt inspired by her. Growing older you can sometimes lose that innocent  inner child creativity. While I was always one to want to draw and be creative I somehow lost touch along the way in high school and needing to find who I was. Fast forward to losing both parents to cancer in the same year, finding my true love (I love you Brian) a marriage and a beautiful baby girl Harper I finally felt home in my heart.  I was laying in bed with my husband one night and I wasn't at all nervous when I said to him "I am going to open an etsy store and start selling jewelry." While I had never wire wrapped I was eager to work with raw stones and sell them to people who needed the healing and therapeutic energies the stones can provide.  I immediately started buying and gathering supplies and would work when both my daughter and husband were sleeping. I had never felt a desire and passion that strong and that's when I knew  this is what I would dedicate my life to. Making beautiful pieces that would help others in some way, whether it would be to help provide healing, provide something to make them feel beautiful, or just have something exquisite to look at. I opened my shop right before my birthday and had my first sale just a few short days later. 



Me: Was there someone you admired when you were young that inspired you to be an artist yourself? 


Brittany: My grandmother, an artist herself, was a painter. Her second job was working at Vicky's plaster shop on Harford Rd. She would always let me pick out a piece and paint it along her side. I still remember giving my mom a plaster pink snowflake my grandmother helped me make for Christmas. My father always encouraged me to be creative, he never got annoyed the hundreds of times I wanted to pause a Disney movie so that I could try and draw the characters.  He provided me with tons of beads and I was always making those little animals or friendship bracelets. My mother was also someone I admired; she was creative with our home and a beautiful free spirit.  It was filled with beautiful plants that she would talk to and name. We now have a Mr. Fiddle Fig in our home as my daughter will tell you all about our plants. My mother would decorate with brass figurines and random findings from yard sales and vintage stores. When I was 9 my mother got me an application for a drawing school. I filled out the forms and completed the required drawings. I received a letter weeks later telling me I was too young to attend but to try again in a few years. Of course there is always art teachers and hundreds of other random things that inspire you when you are young. 


Me: Do you remember the first piece you created that you were really proud of? That piece that made you say, "Yes, this is my calling; I am an artist!" 

Brittany: As I sit down with my material, it always take a bit to get things flowing. I start moving things around trying to combine things you wouldn't normally see put together. I started creating a 3 raw stone necklace collection, where I combine 3 different  types of stones and use a special wire wrapping technique to create them. It was in that collection that I felt so incredibly proud of. It was completely original and one of a kind. No one else had these designs. I loved them all so much I actually didn't want to sell any of them. I can sometimes get a little emotionally attached to a creation.  I kept one and posted the rest on my Esty website and the entire collection sold that week. I decided to keep these pieces special and only release a collection of them a few times a year. They do sell pretty quickly and I always receive wonderful messages from my customers about how much they love their new piece.


Me: Was there a moment or a decision you made in your career that you feel was a personal success? When did you know that you had something special? 

Brittany: The moment I believed in myself enough to invest in myself, to set aside the fear of the what ifs, is the moment I felt a personal success. A lot of people just want to do something that is safe. Take the risk. Invest in yourself. Believe in yourself. When you can do that you have something special. 

Me: Can you share a story of a time in your journey when you encountered a big set-back or experienced failure, and most importantly, what did you take away from that experience? 

Brittany: I have not encountered any setbacks, or moments of failure as of yet. I always try my best to remain positive in my situation. In can be incredibly challenging at times when the orders are coming in but your 2 year old is having a bad night and your 5 month old is teething. It's very tempting to just want to throw your hands in the air and feel defeated. It's hard to find balance sometimes between work and kids and just life in general. I am learning along the way. I was going to be a stay at home and overnight I became a work at home mom just like that. I could never give up either, so I will continue to work at night after my babies are in bed. 


Me:What are you working on right now, or what are you currently obsessed with? 

Brittany: I am absolutely obsessed with Moonstone! It's my birthstone as well and just can never get enough. People who have never seen it before are just amazed and ask me about it when I wear my pieces. I am working on pieces from my 3 stone collection and I am actually even starting to make things for Christmas. I love the season so very much! I just recently put in some orders for opals with my wonderful manufacturer and I seriously can't even believe I waited so long to work with them. They are right up there with my moonstone. I can't get enough of anything raw, you would gasp at my crystal collection. I am a hoarder of the crystals. I did see a meme the other day that said "it's not hoarding if its crystals". Aquamarine, Kunzite and Labradorite are some other favorites. 


Me: What is your dream project? If there were no restrictions on time or money what would you create? 

Brittany: I would absolutely love to have a store front, it's my dream. I would sell my own pieces, vintage finds and open up my store to other local artists to sell in. Every time I see a vacant store front in my area I envision myself  inside running the place. You are what you manifest, the more I see it the more of a chance it will happen. From this I would actually love to help others, I've recently read and heard about a few mothers who passed away and had very young children. I would love to start a program where I could send these children monthly art kits with instructions and fun things to make. I feel like art and creativity are great ways to show emotion and express anything you are feeling.  

Me: What’s the one piece that you’ve created that you will always keep? 

Brittany: My pink tourmaline wire wrapped  ring and my rose quartz and tourmaline necklace. Just the chain alone  takes me 2 hours to make. I wear it on special occasions and keep it where I can admire it. 


Me: How do you keep your creative spark/ What keeps you fascinated? What inspires you? 

Brittany: I don't ever lose my creative spark to be honest, I sit down and just start mixing and matching different stones and color combinations and the ideas just come flowing. I actually have an idea book and  section on my phone to write down my ideas. Having a lot of different  materials is very helpful, and of course I am always surrounded by beautiful and inspiring crystals.  


Me: What is your vision for your Catching Wildflowers and Wandering Bohemians? 

Brittany: My vision for my two stores would be to eventfully have a store front. I would love to create beautiful pieces daily and have other employees do the rest for me. Running the business on my own sometimes holds me back from creating as much as I was to, I have to do inventory and keep up with my books and lots of other things that I hope one day I can provide others with a job and to help me. I want to grow so large, I would love to be a known brand one day. I am starting with having others carry my pieces in their store fronts. I was recently contacted by someone to start carrying my line in their store, I am over the moon with excitement.  

Me: How does it make you feel to know that others are wearing the pieces you've created? 

Brittany: It makes me feel good knowing that I can hand craft a piece that someone will put on to make them feel beautiful and complete. Wearing  jewelry  can be a form of self expression and I get to make these pieces that people will constantly reach for and connect with. People contact me from all over the world with custom orders, they are for personal reasons or even gifts for love ones. They trust me to make them that special piece and I am very grateful. Other people are allowing me to fulfill my passion and still stay home with my babies, I feel so blessed. 


Me: Can you describe a single habit that you strongly believe contributes to your success? 

Brittany: I stay on top of my orders, orders always go out early. I would never want to be the shop that takes 3-4 weeks to get a product to them, and if that ever were to happen I would be hiring someone else to help me with the process. If I have a rush of orders, I get right to work. I don't push my production time I just stay up later. You must have this drive if you want to succeed. 

Brittany: Thank you so much Sea-Gypsy for taking the time to interview me and help me get the word out on my shop. We all appreciate your hard work and dedication to your fans.


You are more than welcome, Sweet Brittany! I love your spirit and creativity!

And, just for my wonderful SG friends, Brittany is offering a code for 15% off of your purchase of $19.99 or more. The code is "Seagypsy15," and is good through December 31! 

I hope you enjoyed this personal look into the life of a beautiful artisan. And, remember, supporting small business supports artists and their families!

xoxo,

CJ

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