I have had an amazing response to my first giveaway, so am now bringing all you lucky ladies (and gentlemen if there are any out there) my second amazing xmas giveaway. This time I have teamed up with Amelia from Millicent Russell etsy store. She has very generously offered the winner of this giveaway a $50 voucher to spend in her store. You can either buy one of her items or have something commissioned. She has also answered a few questions so we can all get to know her a little better.
Whats your name and where do you come from? My name is Amelia Huang and I was born and raised in the capital of Australia, Canberra. I've been here most of my life but lived in Beijing also for three years.
How long have you been making your designs? I've been making jewelery since 2006 but only started up my business at the end of 06 early O7 when a friend came over and saw what I had done and said I should try and sell them to stores.
Why did you name your shop 'Millicent Russell'? Millicent Russell is the name of my label and it actually came from a nickname my friends used to call me at school - A little odd seeing as there isn't anyone named after Millicent Russell that they were calling me after but I guess maybe it just sounded right. It's stayed with me ever since and I thought it suited the type of jewelery I make.
Whats your favourite materials to work with? My favorite material to work with is lace. I love the intricacy of ot and the fact that I can use different bits to make earrings, necklaces and bracelets. Some of the vintage lace is so well made - I think about how long it took to make and really treasure that.
Of your items which is your favourite? My favorite item is a piece I did that was made with a reverse carved lucite rose and vintage filigree stamping. Everyone wanted this piece - if only I could have made 100s of them I would have sold them all! I think that's why I love it so much as it was really the first piece people said stood out from anything else.
Where do you get your inspiration? I get my inspiration from anything that's pretty. I love pretty things and making them into pretty pieces to wear. I love girly stuff but more feminine girly - for the older woman. I love ballroom dancing and I think I'm very influenced by the use of feathers and crystals on the ballroom dresses from back in the day (also today). My grandmother used to send me videos of the national dance championships and I used to watch it every Christmas. Never did I think I'd ever dance there myself but I guess that's why the memory is so special to me. But I'm inspired by unique things and things that stand out from the crowd.
Do you have any formal training or did this start as a hobby? I started this as a hobby. At school I loved to do photography, art and fashion and just decided to make some jewelery when my grandmother passed away and I was given her old pieces, some of which were broken so I decided to make some other pieces out of them and that's how it started.
Do you have any favourite etsy shops which you buy from? My three favorite etsy shops are bazaarlatino, seaunicon and vintagefabulous. In saying that though, I find more and more jewelery stores that I love every day when I'm on there. My favorites is getting pretty jam packed!!
Whats your dream for the next year? My dream is to relaunch my label - have a new website and have a launch party and get my name out there more. I've really lost opportunities in the past years as I haven't been able to keep up with orders because of my full time job but next year I'm biting the bullet and going all out. It's something I want to pursue as a full time career.
Whats you favourite flower? My favorite flower is the peony. I love how big and voluptuous it's petals are and the colors are magnificent. You can't really get many of them here which is why I love them - they are so hard to come by which makes them extra special!
The same rules as before will apply: You must be a follower (please state how you are following) and you must comment on which item you would have if you could choose any from the featured shop. Don't forget you can get extra entries for blogging/tweeting/facebooking this giveaway (please leave me the links) by hearting your fav item and the shop on etsy (please state your etsy name) and this time you can also get an extra entry for becoming a follower of the shops blog, which can be found here. Please state all the extra entries you do.
This will also be ending at midnight on the 24th Dacember and the winner will be announced on Christmas day.
Daisymay XOXO
p.s. I promise to finish the alphabet city posts as soon as I can!! And bring you a few outfit posts!
p.s. I was told her blog link wasn't working so I have re-set it and now it should work
