Get To Know: Janice Avellana of Hazelnut Cottage
Hey, it’s another sponsor and this time from Hawaii! Woohoo!
Meet Janice Avellana of Hazelnut Cottage:
Name: Janice Avellana
Business Name: Hazelnut Cottage
Where are you located?
Honolulu, Hawaii
What is it that you design and create?
I design a line of handstamped and vintage inspired wedding jewelry and I create a mess wherever I go!
What is your favorite part of the design process?
Hmmm…I really enjoy reading; that is what usually inspires me somehow. So, coming up with an initial design or concept is fun for me…I get to think my quiet thoughts and ruminate. Oh, and I also enjoy composing the pieces; so often what I concept out in my head or on paper turns into something quite different when I actually start assembling the pieces together. Oh! And I love to shop for new components!
How did you come up with your business name?
Well, my married surname, “Avellana†is Spanish. In Spanish, “Corylus Avellana†is the scientific name of the common filbert or hazelnut plant…hence, the “Hazelnut†in Hazelnut Cottage. The “Cottage†is the dream image I carry around inside of my head—my “one-day-oceanfront-cottageâ€.
Where/How did this all begin?
After a decade (really!) of soul-searching, career changing, degree getting, I was just home from the hospital after giving birth to my second child when the desperation of having to go back to work struck me. I spent the next few months with my newborn baby asleep in his moses basket under my computer desk, while I searched for a way to work from home. Lo and behold, I stumbled across Etsy and a few fabulous blogs written by people who called themselves an “indie artistâ€. It was then that I knew I had finally found my calling! Will I always, always be creating this line of jewelry? Probably not…the artist angst continually stirs me towards new passions that I must experience now! But I do believe, that I will be an indie artist in some form or other, forevermore!
Who or what inspires you?
Reading inspires me…sometimes it’s those strange books I read that few other people seem to have heard or care about…sometimes it’s bedtime stories as I read to my little ones. And my babies, my relationship with God and the ocean all inspire me, make me hungry to work with my hands somehow.
What advice would you give other independent artists who are just starting out?
Start! Just pick something and start! That was the most difficult part for me. And then, be honest with yourself and be sure to choose something you enjoy doing, since you will probably be putting in long hours. And allow yourself to try a bunch of things until you find “ITâ€. And then, don’t give up!
I find it also helps to build a network of support for yourself. You know, surround yourself with other indies or at least, compassionate people who will support you in your creative life and not roll their eyeballs and think “unemployed†when you blather on and on about what you do! I am still working on this for myself.
What is your favorite indie purchase or trade?
I have not yet made my favorite indie purchase! Right now, I am drooling over a custom portrait of my children by Etsy Indie Artist Joseph Blake. One day…oh, one day!
What’s on your iPod/music player right now?
Viola by Michael Tolcher.
What t.v. shows are you currently hooked on?
Super Why; a PBS Kids show about reading. I don’t have time for much else!
What was the last movie you watched?
I am Legend.
What’s your favorite food?
Café Sistina’s Pollo Gorgonzola. That, and spicy ahi sushi, which I could eat everyday. Oh, and chocolate pudding with tons of whipped cream.
What’s your favorite candy?
Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.
Coffee or Tea?
Really, really cold iced tea, the flavored kind, like mango or passion fruit iced tea! Yum!
What store could you walk around in for hours and be happy?
Barnes and Nobles. Takashimaya Times Square and Tokyu Hands in Tokyo, Japan.
Any pets?
Yup, one very peeful cat, Sarai.
Favorite place to visit or place you’d like to visit?
Japan is our home away from home, but I would love to travel the world! All of Europe, Canada, Nova Scotia…sigh…and on, and on…
If you could be a superhero, what would your name be and what would be your superpowers?
I am so without the ability to be silly…genetic flaw!
Favorite Holiday?
Christmas. Everything about it!!!
If you were a shoe, what shoe would you be?
A $1.59 rubber slipper from Longs Drugs. I am a low maintenance, I want to be at the beach kind of girl.
What do you secretly wish you could do/be?
I sometimes dream of working in a vacuum sealed, air conditioned room in the back of a museum restoring artifacts for exhibition (every mom out there with screaming kids will understand the “vacuum sealed room†thing!)…or running a brick and mortar store with my bestest friends!
Favorite piece of clothing?
…can’t think of one piece…does this mean I need to go shopping or lose weight? Perhaps both!
Do you speak any other languages? If not, would you like to learn one?
Fluent in pidgin (Hawaii’s local dialect!)
We’re already into 2008! Oh yes, so soon. What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Instead of resolutions, our church has this tradition of choosing a word for the year…my word is “playâ€. So, I want to focus on playing! It’s like therapy for me since I tend towards being too serious for my own good, type-a workaholic…
Business wise, I am in flux. There are so many things I want to pursue, I am in need of some quiet time to sit and plan out my specific goals for this year. Maintain and refine my jewelry line, create an organized workspace, increase my wholesale accounts, and file my taxes!!!
Thanks so much, Jan! Pidgin, eh? Here are some beautiful pieces from the shop…
Bonheur Necklace: $50.00; Nest Necklace with Pearls: $60.00:
  
Love Story Earrings: $74.00; Storm Necklace: $64.00:
  
Yearning for the Sea Necklace: $78.00; Vintage Romance Necklace: $78.00:
  
i love this girl and her work.
i regularly adorn myself with her jewellry and feel that “i am special in this just for me” feeling. beautious creations from a most beautious woman! great interview. i love the interestingness of the questions . im about to have my first baby and also am trying to think of ways to work from home! i’ll let you know when i do!