Weekly Featured Artist - Michelle of michvanetta

For this weeks Featured Artist it was almost too hard to choose the photos to use to go with the interview as all of Michelle's pieces are stunning!! You really should take a look through her shop 'michvanetta' to see her earrings, necklaces, brooches, bracelets, hairpins, bangles and more!!! Oh and you can stay up to date with Michelle over at her blog too.

Tell us all about yourself and your craft?
My name is Michelle Vivado and I’m the sole creator behind michvanetta.
Mich is an abbreviation of Michelle and Vanetta is my middle name, the combination of the two is definitely unique.
I’m a thirty something mother of two gorgeous little girls aged 6 and 2, and amongst all that I do for them and my husband I need a little “me time” for creating and meeting other creative, like minded people.
I live in Eltham, a leafy suburb of Melbourne, it’s a lovely community, an artistic community and a wonderful place to raise children.
I come from a very creative family, my mother knits beautifully and most of the women in my extended family create in one or many forms.
I create jewellery and more and working from my little work bench is very satisfying. It's always overflowing with wonderful and unique beads, that I really find hard parting with.

How long have you been creating your craft?
I’ve been creating jewellery and more for around 6 years now.


What is one of the biggest lesson you have learnt about your craft & selling it?
One of the biggest lessons I have learned is to not be so shy about speaking about what I do if asked and hand out business cards to those that do ask. It has many benefits and often results in lovely comments (which is always nice) sales and/or custom orders.

Which of your items did you have the most fun creating & why?
At present I’m really having a lot of fun creating my magnet sets, I have so many wonderful buttons in my huge stash and I love playing with them and seeing what different colours and different shapes will work with one another.


Is there a basic ‘household’ item you use when creating that seems to work just as good if not better than the actual ‘tool’?
I can’t say I do use any household items whilst creating, as I only create with my jewellery tools.
When starting out, I didn’t own a jewellers cutting tool so I went to my husbands tool box and used his pliers…I wouldn’t dream of using them now.

What is your favourite candy bar & why?
I haven’t eaten a candy bar for nearly 4 months, not because I’m a freak, but due to being on a cleansing diet under the care of my Naturopath. In saying that I do get tempted all the time and you’ll often find me drooling over a Mars Bar ad.


If money, responsibilities, and time were no issues where in the great wide world would you go & why?
There are so many places in the world I’d love to visit and re-visit. If I have to choose just one it would be to go back and visit La Paz in Bolivia, South America. My husband is Bolivian and we would love to take our girls there and show them around. Show them where daddy grew up and to have them meet his extended family. It’s a beautiful country, vast like Australia and the sights, smells and hospitality are truly mesmerizing.