As soon as Sarah and I booked our tickets to Stage Coach, I went on the search for my perfect summer adventure necklace. That’s how I found Flux of Feathers, aka Arieana Michelle Grills, and her fiercely beautiful handcrafted jewelry. Her pieces are made of bones, feathers, claws, taxidermy and stones and like Sarah, she is committed to breathing new life into the broken and dead. You can check out the flux of feathers necklace I scored on our GingerPino Trippin page.
1.What are you working on at the moment? At the moment I am really trying to work on my social networking and media. Taking pictures of all the pieces that I make and getting them out there for the world to see. It doesn’t help that Im not that tech savvy but Im getting better! Im also currently working on two collections for different online shops and a handful of custom orders.
2.What drives you to do what you do? What drives me most is the excitement I see in customer’s faces when they find the right piece of jewelry thats unique just like them. Its a lot of fun to uncover that bit of shining handmade underground that most people don’t get a chance to see.
3.What is it like to be a woman in your line of work? Two major portions that make up my life are cooking and making jewelry. Being a women and a chef is a lot harder than you’d think. Ive been in positions where Ive had to work twice as hard as everyone else just to prove that I can cook with the big dogs when I was such a young girl. This gave me an extraordinary amount of confidence, once I was able to prove myself. Making jewelry is a bit easier in a sense but I really think I feel that way because Ive gained so much confidence working so hard in the kitchen industry. Making it in this world you really have to be 100% secure with yourself and what you’re putting out in the world.
4.Do you have any regrets?
As a young adult I had to choose between going to school for art or going to culinary school. I figured that if I went to culinary school Id at least never be a starving artist haha. Sometimes I do think about how my life would be if I chose to go to school for Jewelry design and Metal Smithing but then I realize I can use both outlets, I don’t have to choose just one. Working in kitchens full time and trying to start your own small business is very hard and Ive just recently made the switch to working 2 to 3 days and creating jewelry the rest of the week. I feel that Ive worked hard and deserve to excel in my dream of making jewelry
5.Do you have any scars?
Too many to count, Im quite the clumsy lady. Working in kitchens didn’t help my case much either. If you looked at my hands you could tell they’ve done a lot of hard work
6.What do you believe in?
I believe that people can be anything and do anything they want in life. Its just up to them to acquire the tools to build their dreams
7.What is your best dream?
Ive been wanting to move to Austin for a few years now. Ive only been there about 5 or 6 times but often dream about being out there. At the end of the year my boyfriend and I are making the move and I couldn’t be happier to see what a new city will have to offer for Flux Of Feathers
8.What could you not live without as an artist?
Music! Its such a huge part of my life. Punk Rock and Rock n Roll were my saviors as a confused little girl. The first place I felt I fit in. It opened up a whole new world for me as a kid and I don’t think Id be the person I am today if it wasn’t for music
9.What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Stance and Huff socks. I can’t get enough of them! Ive never been one to buy fancy pricey socks but after I got a pair as a gift I couldn’t help but buy all the pretty colors and patterns. Not to mention they’re made so well!
10.Who is your Woman Crush Wednesday?
Chelsea Wolfe. Newest music crush and she’s a total babe! I love the songs she does with her brother King Dude. She’s got such haunting voice and great lyrics
11.Which woman artist out there today would you love to shine the spotlight on?
My dear friend Alexz Sandoval of Bird Trouble. Ive always looked up to her for what she made out of her small business. She makes purses, clutches and bags from repurposed fabrics and also does a lot of custom work. Most of the work she does ends up being one of a kind and I absolutely love that. Recently she moved from Chicago to Mexico to further her dream and has been flourishing. Its wonderful to follow her blogs and Instagram and see all the fun and colorful things she gets into so I highly suggest you follow her too!
IG: @birdtrouble
Shop: http://www.BirdTrouble.com
12.Where can we stalk you?
I post most often to Instagram @fluxofeathers
http://www.Facebook.com/FLUX787
http://www.Etsy.com/people/FluxOfFeathers
And you can find a video interview at http://www.RawArtists.org/Flux787
13.Anything else you’d like to (over)share?
If you’ve got a dream, follow it! Sometimes its so crazy to me that Ive made this small business out of absolutely nothing. Hard work does pay off if you have good intentions. My one and only intention with making jewelry is that I want to be able to give the dead and broken new life.
Miss MorningWood 