Interview with Anne of ForestFernCreations

I am so excited to share this interview today. Anne runs an amazing etsy shop called ForestFernCreations, filled with feather, bone, and taxidermy jewelry and curiosity sets. Her stuff is perfect for any wild soul looking to connect with nature. I wrote a post about a few of the goodies I bought from her last November that you may remember seeing and she is also one of the lovely ladies contributing to the giveaway!

So now, on with the interview!

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1.      Tell us a little bit about your life -where you live, what you do,

pets, that kind of thing.

I am just your typical 24 year old plant, animal and antique store

nerd. I live in a wonderful vintage apartment that I share with my

boyfriend, our two fish, old cat and a myriad of plant babies both

indoor and out. I work in a cubicle by day and I frolic about with

feathers, fur, bones and other dead things by night.

2. How long have you been making jewelry? What inspired you to start?

I haven't been making jewelry long but I have been avidly making art

since I was a child. I opened my shop in September of last year and

have been keeping my fingers busy ever since. I am and always will be

inspired by nature, both alive and dead, antiques, the old and

decrepit, the rotten, forgotten and unwanted. I see beauty in things

that others do not, and I love to share that view with others. My

mother also has been a huge inspiration to create as she herself is an

incredible artist.

3. How often do you create? Do you have a schedule or is it us when

inspiration hits?

I generally do my crafting in the evenings when I get home from my

"regular" job. It is incredibly relaxing after a long day of staring

at screens under artificial lighting to use your hands to create. It

is a kind of meditation that I can find nowhere else. Thus, I really

craft only when the mood strikes! (Which happens to be just about

every day for a couple hours!)

4. What is your workspace like?

My workspace is just a little corner of our computer room that I like

to call my own! It is nothing fancy at all. I make everything you see

in my shop whilst sitting in a tattered vintage sewing chair that was

my boyfriend's mother's chair for many years. To create my own artwork

in a chair that has seen years of careful sewing and female creativity

feels to me to be a blessing. As my boyfriend so lovingly puts it,

"Everything you have created you have made with your own two hands in

that chair."

5. How do you obtain the animal bones and other animal pieces that go

into your creations?

I try to be as cruelty free and eco-friendly in my supply sourcing as

I possibly can be. I obtain most of my bones through trades with other

bone scavengers, farmers, road kill finds and of course second hand

scraps from taxidermists and hunters. I myself do not condone hunting,

fishing or trapping, but I believe in nothing going to waste. Any and

all animal life holds the same value to me as that of a human's, and

expressing equality between human life and animal life is a huge part

of what I do.

6. What are your most popular types of pieces?

It seems lately that people really like jaw bone necklaces! It is not

easy to find or obtain a fully intact jawbone through ethical means,

as most are chewed up and spat out by mother nature in the

decomposition process, run over by cars or are simply missing teeth.

The jaw bone holds a wonderfully dynamic shape, symbol and meaning

behind it, which I think is why so many people love to wear them.

7. Who are the kinds of people you envision wearing your jewelry? (Who

do you create it for?)

I hope that those who wear my jewelry are those who cherish nature and

what it has to teach us. I make my jewelry for passionate people, and

I am truly lucky to be able to talk with so many of my customers about

plants, animals, bones and fossils. I truly feel that my customers and

clientele are a fascinatingly feral bunch!

8. Is there anything else you want to share?

You can always find Forest Fern Creations on Tumblr, Etsy and

Facebook! Thanks a million to Manda Rave for featuring me on her

brilliant blog. It has been a pleasure to be a part of your give away

and blog feature. Most thankful <3

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Thanks so much for sharing Anne! I recommend everyone go give her shop a look, it's definitely worth perusing!

Manda Rave