Life & Work with Pamela Hensley of Orange County

Today we’d like to introduce you to Pamela Hensley.

Hi Pamela, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Sunspells Artistry is a mom and daughter team that started about 10 months ago by chance when my daughter Emma was organizing her gemstone beads and crystals. She had leftovers from projects and told me, “You should make something!” and a few days later I made my first suncatcher. Emma jumped in and put together a few, and started making suncatcher earrings. We started gifting them to family and friends, who encouraged us to try and start selling our designs. Emma and I now do markets and fairs around California, in addition to having a few stores carry our designs.

Alright, 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?
Pam: I am a former freelance wedding hair and makeup artist so I am familiar with the struggles and victories of running your small business. I love being able to travel down this road again and work with my daughter. We continue to work our “regular” day jobs; Emma is an art teacher and I am a patient advocate. It is a continuous balancing act of doing the 9 to 5 while working on Sunspells Artistry. You become responsible for marketing, social media, answering customer’s questions, contracts, researching fairs and markets, etc., and it never stops. It is definitely for your passion and love of what you are creating and sharing.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Sunspells Artistry creates handmade suncatchers, car charms and jewelry using gemstone and crystal beads. For our custom designs, the gemstone and crystal beads are chosen for the owner’s intention: protection with amethyst, intuition with labradorite, inner growth with moonstone, love and harmony with rose quartz. We like to call it “handmade with love and intention”.

Every one of the beads in our designs is wire wrapped and attached by hand. We take the time needed to complete each piece with love. One of our past designs took one month to complete, until we were satisfied the right centerpiece had been chosen.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Get to know your fellow artisans and makers when you attend a fair or market as they can give you the latest on which shows to attend as a vendor, hints on where to get supplies and always make an effort to support their small business when you can!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @sunspellsartistry
• Other: TikTok: sunspellsartistry