My interview with Lost Apostle Bronze Jewelry

Today I have a most inspirational interview that I think everyone will love! My interview is with Lost Apostle Bronze Jewelry. What I love about their jewelry is the uniqueness and mysterious beauty of their creations, truly fascinating!

Lost Apostle Bronze Jewelry… A cure for the common gold.

Please give us a brief bio, where you are from and how you started in this field?
I was born near Montreal, Canada, but have lived outside of Canada half of my life – mostly in Asia, London UK and Spain. I moved back to Canada with my husband, James, a few months ago, with absolutely no idea what I would do for work as I spent the bulk of my time away creating jewelry, clothing, bags and accessories and selling them in various markets around the world, wherever I was at the time – a gypsy lifestyle, really, we even lived out of our 1978 VW camper van in Spain for 3 years selling at whichever markets came our way. There being a lack of any good weekly craft markets in Canada had me start thinking of what I could be doing online – something I could work from home and live wherever I want, besides which, I really did feel like my time at markets was up. I needed something new, and knowing Lost Apostle was a winner (tried and tested in the markets in the UK and Spain!), I just had to try to set up an Etsy shop.

When did you first discover your creative talents?
I have always felt to be a creative person, I think I would whither and fade if I wasn’t able to use my creativity!
My first attempt at making jewelry started when I was 6. I remember very clearly my mum taking me to a bead shop in Montreal, and I was overwhelmed, and in heaven! I still to this day have some of those beads, the beautiful ones I treasured and never used. My collection of beads and jewelry is now quite something, especially after spending years in Nepal, India and Indonesia. Although a lot of my focus in the past with jewelry involved semi-precious stones and precious metals, due to the present day climate with the ever-increasing prices of silver, I was forced to think outside the box. My husband suggested bronze – he is an avid collector of antique bronze jewelry from Asia. He inspired and helped me to create something new and original.

Could you tell us about some of your work?
Right now, its all about Lost Apostle. All pendants, earrings and bracelets are cast in bronze or white bronze with silver plate using the lost wax method. I make the odd piece in sterling silver or gold plate. It all starts off with a design in mind – drawn out on paper in 3D – getting in all the angles and trying to visualize the finished piece as a sculpture. All designs are made by myself and my husband, James, and I tackle it from there. Most Lost Apostle jewelry is pendants – for him, for her, for all walks of life. Pendants range from flying pigs, to 1950′s style microphones, guns, angel wings, feathers, loads of different bird skulls, animal skulls, teddy bear skulls, anatomical hearts, bones, and more decorative skulls like my favourite – the Day of the Dead skull. I have started making earrings, bracelets and have plans for Pandora style beads (though with a Lost Apostle twist), and cuff bracelets with tribal overtones. There is just not enough time in a day!

What inspires you to keep going and how do you keep yourself motivated?
Lost Apostle is a relatively new business, I am always looking for new ideas and am constantly inspired by what is going on around me. I keep myself motivated by letting Lost Apostle grow organically, and take advantage of opportunities that I think might help business.

How will you describe your style?
There is no real singular style for Lost Apostle. It is a fusion of Tribal, Steampunk, Retro, Gothic, Art Nouveau and Classic.

What is your approach to design?
Adapting to the latest fashion fad is only a part of it. There are so many opportunities for a brand like Lost Apostle as it caters to men, women and absolutely every style of person, it gives plenty of room to come up with a huge range of ideas and designs so that there is no one single approach.

Describe your workshop/studio for us:
I have a massive wooden table that I work on – we have just moved here from the UK, so haven’t set up a proper workshop yet! I pull out my dremel and carving tools and wax when I need them – I’ll be setting up a proper carving station hopefully within the next couple of months – I am planning some new designs and need to get going on them! Other than that there is a wall of chain, leather rolls, shelves of bags, postal supplies and of course bronze jewelry! I’ve got a giant cork board with my in-and-out info, plus new ideas for designs in drawings and images. My sewing machine’s been collecting dust, much to my dismay! The computer has taken over…

Any influences or anyone you look up to when it comes to designing?
Influences are all around. Whether it be the latest fashion styles (I love the rock n roll style of Alexander McQueen), objects of nostalgia (our 50′s style microphone pendant, cassettes…), or ancient forms and designs of jewelry, I am continuously inspired by ancient tribal designs of Asia, South & North America America & Africa. Both James and I spent much of our 20′s and 30′s travelling & working in Asia and Europe, hence developing the Lost Apostle style of jewelry along the way. I studied painting in university, and my final year thesis was a body of work dedicated to graffiti, skulls and tribal styles, so this is where I think it all began.

“What is Art?” is certainly too big of a question to ask here, but what do you hope your audience takes away from your art? What statement do you hope to make?
A huge question indeed. This was a question we were asked in my first year philosophy class at university! What I want people to take away from my art is to feel like they are wearing just that – art! Not just another piece of jewelry. I like art with an edge. Lost Apostle has got an edge. It’s not easy to forget.

How do you bridge the gap of the business side of designing?
I always have to think of what might sell versus what I want to make. Ideas revolve around what might look good as a pendant and what kind of person might be looking for the said pendant, which luckily is broad! I have to be careful and keep an eye on how many designs are being produced, as I still have to stock each and every one of them – it gets expensive and I can’t stretch myself too thin. When people ask for custom made orders, I have to think long and hard about making them, as it doesn’t make sense to just make one, when the casting process and production can cost so much.

Describe yourself in 5 words.
Adaptive, artistic, original, organized & chaotic!

How has your experience been selling online?
My experience in online selling has been overwhelming. It takes so much effort to get a shop up and running – I am so used to market stalls, where you go to work, set up, stand behind a stall all day, pack up and go home… online selling never stops. My husband was instrumental in helping me set up the Etsy site. I am more of a designer and creator, and though organized, found the whole process rather daunting as there was so much to think about – photography, descriptions, SEO, tagging, promotion, and the list goes on… I am really happy with the direction business has taken. It seems that Lost Apostle’s gone viral!

What has been your most exciting moment as an artist?
There have been quite a few moments of excitement as an artist. I went to art school, and continued as an artist afterwards because I love the rush you get from creating a beautiful piece of art. I spent years working for other companies in graphic design, marketing and print production, and none were ever satisfying. It was only when I went back to doing what I love about 7 years ago, that full inspiration came back to me, though it was incredibly hard to get started again – to create something that I love and that would put money in the bank to boot! I was constantly changing and revising ideas and designs at the beginning, plus the crazy soaring prices of silver forced me to think again, and think in bronze! I guess that was Lost Apostle’s golden moment…

Do you have any advice for new artists?
Follow what you love, but be prepared to let go of it as well. Many artists create solely for themselves, and wonder why it doesn’t work when they try to make a living out of it, so it’s important to listen to advice and adapt when need be.

Where else can we find you online?
Etsy – www.thelostapostle.com

Facebook – www.facebook.com/LostApostleBronzeJewelry

There are quite a few other websites that carry Lost Apostle – www.shanalogic.com & www.inkedmag.com to name a couple, as well as a few small shops & tattoo studios in Canada, the US, the UK, and in Europe. There is also still a Lost Apostle stall at Spitalfields Market in London, UK…. where it all started. Lost Apostle is going global!

Thank you Nadya for this wonderful interview! What an inspiration you are to everyone, your determination has brought you great success and I think that is so important for every artist whether they sell online or not. I really enjoyed browsing your shop, so many interestingly unique and beautiful items!

Meet Stephen, the artist and photographer behind ArtySandp on Etsy

Who and where in the world are you?
My name is Stephen and I live in Ascot, England with my wife of 20 years, Patricia. We’re situated about 10 minutes from Tittenhurst Park where John Lennon used to live and 15 minutes from Windsor Castle. Unfortunately our home isn’t on the same scale, it’s a small house that was built in 1900 and whilst it looks quaint(ish) the lack of natural light is a bit of a nightmare.

My main interests from a creative point of view are collage, photography and writing. I started writing my first book last year but it’s based around quantum physics, decoherence, the theory of infinity, ecology plus a good old conspiracy theory and my brain started to hurt at around 40,000 words – it’s now been put on hold for a few months whilst I ensure that I actually understand the plot.

What Artists on Etsy do you admire for their artistic talent?
To be honest I admire anyone who has the courage of their convictions and produce any form of art. If I was pushed however a few of the shops I would reference are heatherevanssmith (I love her “Romantic Vintage Inspired Photography”), oddballartco (her dark, fantasy style paintings are superb) and fewbluehue (I’m always in awe of complex collage work and I love his approach)

What’s your background?
Rewind 30+ years and I was a teenager being made by my school to choose between either Arts or Maths based studies. I could have done either but I chose the Maths, IT, Statistics and Economics route simply because financially I needed to secure a job. My interest in art had to become secondary to maintaining a career, paying the monthly bills and getting on with life in general.

Last year, after I’d had successful careers (imho) in both IT and Human Resources, I decided that I needed to step away from the corporate world to try and follow my true interest in the more artistic side of life. I haven’t severed the ties completely, there’s still the mortgage to pay after all, but Etsy is hopefully one step on the journey.

What do you think is integral to the work of an artist?
For me it’s space. Not necessarily physical space but definitely mental space. If you’re actually going to create something new you have to have room to think, to explore and to discover without the everyday world intruding on you.

What role does the artist have in society?
The artist is there as a support, a developer and a conscience. Artists can support society by brightening and enhancing the world we live in, develop us through work that we have to explore and challenge us by making us think.

How has your artwork changed over time?
My work has become less derivative and more personal. Initially my artwork was based more on what I believed other people wanted to see. Now it’s based solely on what I see in my mind’s eye, it’s important that I like it and that it means something to me. Though obviously I hope that what I like strikes a chord with others!

What art do you most identify with?
Anything that challenges me and has a complexity to it, a picture of flowers (for example) has its place but I prefer something that makes me think. Not just ‘what’s the artist trying to say?’ but also ‘why do these colours/textures/words work together?’, ‘why does this image/sculpture/piece of writing disturb me?’

What type of artwork do you most enjoy doing?
I actually get the most enjoyment from large scale collages where I can really get involved with the image and what I’m trying to portray. Unfortunately due to space limitations at home I don’t produce these as often as I’d like.

What themes do you pursue?
I like working with abstract ideas/images and playing with words/subjects, beyond that any theme is fair game.

What’s you scariest experience in creating art?
I produced a collage called Dark Places (which at the time of interview is in my shop). It’s quite a simple piece, someone with head in hands surrounded by laughing images and old text set against a red/black background. It was only after I’d finished it and revisited it a few days later that I realised I was that person. The collage reflected perfectly where I was mentally at that point in time – scary stuff but also useful as it enabled me to put a lot of issues into context. (This interview is better than a psychiatrist’s couch, just let me know when my time is up….)

Who is your favourite artist and art work?
My favourite artist is a graphic artist called Barney Bubbles. He produced a lot of artwork in the form of LP sleeves and advertising that meant a lot to me as I was growing up. He died at the age of 41 and personally I think he’s one of those artists who’s given a massive amount to popular culture (well in the UK anyway, I’m not certain whether he had any impact in the US) without receiving the credit he’s due.

My favourite piece is probably difficult to select, all the work he did with Hawkwind has a place in my heart. If I had to pick one item however it would probably be the cover of their LP “Doremi Fasol Latido” (he also named the album) which is a lovely piece of work in black and silver.

Describe a real life situation that inspired you?
Growing up one of my closest friends was a great painter but also a dreamer. He was always going to take on the art world, have an exhibition, become famous but never got further than talking about it. He died last year and seeing all that potential come to nothing was the push I needed to try and escape the corporate world. I often think about him when I’m ‘being creative’, I’m certain he’s looking over my shoulder.

What is your artistic outlook on life?
Art is personal to each and everyone of us. What one person calls art another will call rubbish – and in their own minds both of them are correct. Regardless of whether the finished item suits our personal taste, no one should be judged for expressing themselves, they should be commended for making the effort.

What memorable responses have you had to your work?
When I was at school my Art teacher ripped up a piece of my work and threw it at me because it wasn’t what he expected (it was a 2D cartoon representation of his idea). Class hero for 48 hours!

What inspires you to be creative?
Overheard conversations, newspaper headlines, word play, people watching, daydreaming. The thing that doesn’t work for me is enforced creativity, I can’t just sit down and create, I need to have that initial spark in the brain.

What do you dislike about the art world?
Snobbery. There’s too much emphasis on patronage and public relations. Too many good artists are being overlooked and mediocre ones being lauded.

What is your dream project?
I approached the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (it’s a museum of Art and Design) a few years ago about producing a history of artwork used on singles. They didn’t progress my idea – it’s still my dream project.

Name three artists you’d like to be compared to.
I don’t think that comparisons work with something as subjective as art. I’d simply like to be considered an individual.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Be yourself.

Professionally, what’s your goal?
To be successful enough to escape the corporate ball and chain!

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