Shop name: Wabibsabi Brooklyn

Shop address: http://wabisabibrooklyn.etsy.com
http://wabisabibrooklyn.com

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

My name is MaryAnne LoVerme and I live in Brooklyn, New York with my husband in our cat's apartment.

What inspires your work?

I find travel really inspiring, and my favorite mode of locomotion is walking. I walk over the Brooklyn Bridge most weekdays. On long walks I usually experience a state I imagine some people achieve through meditation.

Describe your creative and production process.

I make my jewelry in the kitchen, using all sorts of paper, coins, other non-coin metal shapes, and vintage and modern bits and pieces. I choose to work with materials that are not intrinsically valuable because I enjoy the alchemy involved in transforming them into something precious.

What is the first thing you remember making?

A placemat I wove out of paper in kindergarten. I found the whole process amazing.

What first got you interested in jewelry making?

I've always loved turning castoffs into crafts; I've also long harbored a special fondness for pennies. What got me interested in making jewelry was a romantic notion of people around the world wearing the creations I fashioned out of these things. Sort of a salve for an existential crisis!

What's your favorite piece that you've made?

I love how the large round copper pendant with red chiyogami turned out.

What's your favorite handmade possession?

The mittens my husband made me.

When and why did you start your business?

In May 2007. It really started as a way to make a creative outlet self-sustaining. It's grown a bit beyond that, which is great!

If you could see your jewelry on any one person, living or dead, who would it be?

I'm a big movie and television buff, so I'd most love to see my jewelry onscreen. If the producers take Mad Men into the 70s, I'd love to see Joan or Betty rocking some Wabisabi Brooklyn.

Is there a trick or a tool that you just can't live without?

I am addicted to gum and cannot make jewelry without chewing. For real.

What are your best selling items?

My earrings on pennies.

Who's handmade work are you drooling over right now?

I cannot get enough of (teammate) Off the Mat's "Elixir of the Gods," soap. She makes it with food grade chocolate scent, and it literally makes me drool!

Why should people buy handmade?

It tends to be more sustainably created and your dollars more directly benefit the creator of the item. Personally, I love to talk to the person who made what I am buying and finding out about the process and the inspiration behind the work. I love a story!

If you could make a piece that would retail for $10,000, what would it look like?

I love to make intricate, bib-like necklaces, so it would be something in that vein, combining vintage precious metals - some decoupaged, some not. I'm seeing some rose gold - perhaps because I love copper! - chains and round pieces decoupaged with some yellows.

What can we look forward to from Wabisabi Brooklyn in the future?

I'm looking forward to a busy fall season of in-person selling. I'm double booked on certain dates, so I need to find someone to help me sell! You can look forward to an employee search.

What is something about yourself that surprises people when they find out about it?

That I love Jethro Tull. Don't judge. They rule!

What would you like to be doing in ten years?

Sitting in a hot tub in my backyard.

- Jill Davis
jdavisstudio.etsy.com