Today we’d like to introduce you to Ann Mierisch.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ann. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started my artistic journey as a photographer many years ago. It was after a trip to Paris that friends told me that I should set my photographs to jewelry. I dabbled a bit with photo jewelry and created pendants with Eiffel Tower photos and other various Paris photographs. After a year or so of creating photography jewelry, I wanted to learn more about jewelry making and to create my own style and brand of jewelry.
It was one fateful day at my local tea shop when the purveyor spilled some tea leaves on the counter. I was immediately intrigued by the patterns and the mosaic that the tea made, that I raced home to try to create jewelry with tea leaves. After several failed attempts to recreate the patterns at the tea shop, I finally found a system that worked.
I work very hard to continually evolve my jewelry and travel the globe in search of interesting findings, stones, and vintage materials to incorporate into my jewelry designs. This past year my tea jewelry is for sale in several tea shops in Paris and Berlin and gift shops in several art museums here in California.
I wanted to open a brick and mortar shop but with the rising costs of real estate in Southern California, it has been difficult to find affordable real estate. Not wanting to give up on my desire to have my own shop, I decided to start an artist collaboration of pop up boutiques and shops. The shops showcase up and coming artists and provide a destination stop experience for the shoppers. The uniqueness of this pop up is that each vendor is carefully curated and I do not have more than one or two at the most of the same type of vendor. This alleviates competition between the vendors and allows each to be spotlighted and shine in the markets. We just completed a great mothers day pop up with about 14 vendors that were well received by the Fullerton Artwalk. These pop-ups are a great alternative to a brick and mortar shop while gaining exposure and helping up and coming artists showcase their talents.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Yes, there have been many struggles to get my product to market. So many hurdles when I started out, finding reliable and affordable suppliers, finding the right place to showcase my jewelry, learning new techniques, and of course the money struggle to buy supplies and vendor fees.
I would say the best thing women can do is to not give up on their dreams keep forging ahead and keep trying. Also, stay true to yourself and your art, don’t change anything just to catch a trend. Trends come and go, but originality will endure.
what should we know about Chamomile Whiskey? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I’m a jewelry designer. My specialty is handcrafted tea jewelry and unique vintage bohemian jewelry. I’m most proud of my Chamomile Whiskey jewelry line, a little bohemian, a little rocker. I think having such a unique product sets me apart from mainstream jewelry. I fuse vintage materials from around the globe with my teas and my own unique bohemian-gypsy style.
It would be great to hear about any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve used and would recommend to others.
I’m a huge YouTube fan. Whenever I need to learn a technique or struggle with how to wire wrap or something, I turn to YouTube. I turn to several books for motivation in both life and for my art, I love Iyanla Vanzant and Pema Chardon and Eckhart Tolle.
For jewelry related business, I follow the Flourish and Thrive Academy, the Ice Resin guru, Susan Lenart Kazmer. Here in LA is a great artist collaborative space called Makers Mess that is great for learning and inspiration.
Contact Info:
- Website: Underoneroofoc.com
- Phone: 818-692-0868
- Email: [email protected], [email protected]
- Instagram: @chamomilewhiskeydesigns @underoneroofoc
- Facebook: Chamomilewhiskeydesigns underoneroofoc
- Other: chamomilewhiskey.etsy.com
Image Credit:
Chamomile Whiskey
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