Interview With A Star - Alecia at Arctida shop

November is the beginning of the Holiday rush for me. Like everyone else at this time of year, I am looking forward to shopping for holiday gifts for my friends and family. There are a lot of things you can get but I consider jewelry as one of the nicest gifts to give. Of course, if you know your recipient’s taste, Etsy is the great place to shop for things you will never find at the mall and prices are often much better, too!

So if you are looking for a nice gifts to give and thinking that jewelry might be the right choice for you, I’d like to direct your attention to Arctida’s shop. Alecia is the owner of this shop and a scientist from Stockholm, Sweden. In her spare time she makes the most beautiful pieces using precious metals and gemstones. I am a proud owner of one of her wonderful pair of earrings.

I am happy to introduce you to Alecia at Arctida shop!

Q: How did you find Etsy and how long have you been selling on Etsy?

A: I first heard about Etsy in one of the Swedish handmade forums. Apparently it was a great place to finding things to buy. I registered as a buyer under the name AleciaV in November 2007. The shop still exists today as my photography shop and I started to explore Etsy. I’ve opened up the Arctida shop just two weeks later, but left it almost empty for almost a year because I had my own web site for selling jewelry. It was after the Christmas rush in 2008 that I realized that Etsy was a great place to sell jewelry from and started to pay more attention to my shop at Etsy.

Q: How long have you been creating?

A: I've been designing jewelry for over 9 years now. Colored gemstones are my passion and the reason I started to make my own jewelry. I couldn’t find jewelry with colored gemstones in the stores here in Sweden. Ever since I stumbled upon Eni Oken’s and Iza Malczyk tutorials about coiling and wire work and that has been a major influence over my work. I occasionally play with a torch and I love to combine styles, techniques and materials.

Q: What items do you carry in your shop?

A: I make handcrafted one-of-a-kind and limited edition artisan intricate wired jewelry. They are made with high quality precious or semiprecious gemstones, pearls and precious metals.

Q: Do you have a favorite item you have made?

A: It is hard to choose, but if I have to, the necklace “Harmonia” would be my personal favorite for the moment because green is my favorite color and especially emerald green.

Q: What else do you enjoy making besides jewelry?

A: I have two more major hobbies, Digital Art/Photography and homemade skin care products.

Q: If you had an extra hour each day what would you do with it?
A: Besides being with my family I would like to spend more time on Digital Art because right now I simply do not have as much time as I want for it.

Thank you Alecia, for being with us today!

If you'd like to purchase Alecia's work please visit her shops on Etsy:
Arctida
AleciaV
Arctida's Supplies