Meet Spider, our next “Ask an Artist” contributor!

It’s been far too long since we’ve gotten to dive into the mind of a great chainmaille artist and we are thrilled to have Spider of Silverweaver and Spiderchain as our next contributor.  Spider has been a longtime friend of Rebeca and Blue Buddha Boutique – basically, we adore her.  Not only does she produce incredible chainmaille supplies, great projects, and some awesome instructional DVDs, but she’s just an overall great lady.  When you consider all the things Spider does (on her website she says “I’m Spider, the founder of Spiderchain Jewelry. I’m the designer, webmistress, accountant, shipping department, and janitor. I coil, cut, count, weave, choose, email, anodize, troubleshoot, and teach.”) it’s easy to forget that she has another full time job – mother.

Our “Ask an Artist” article with Spider will focus on her experiences with balancing work and life – something we feel so many of our readers can relate to.  Read on to learn more about Spider and find out how you can ask her your questions about “doing it all”…and keeping it all balanced.

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Spider is a chainmail artist currently living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her childhood was spent in Mendocino, a secluded community of artists on the California coast, though eventually she followed her left-brain to Boston to join the technology revolution, receiving a degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT. After several years as a computer geek she discovered that her passion lay not in technology, but in art and today she spends her time discovering new and beautiful ways to weave metal.

 

 

Spider’s passion for making and teaching others how to make chainmaille got her started with her own business, however as many small business owners can attest to, the day-to-day dealings are often less glamorous (in Spider’s case, fulfilling supply orders, answering customer questions and keeping up with inventory) than the passion that got them started.  For Spider, the challenge to manage her time stems from the need to keep up with her business each day knowing that when her second grade daughter comes home from school, it’s all about homework, cuddle time and swim lessons.

 

        

 

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It’s your turn to pick Spider’s brain about balancing work and life. We will be accepting questions until Saturday, October 15th! Here’s how to get your question to Spider:

 

1. Write it in the comments section at the end of this blog entry
2. Post it to our wall on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BlueBuddhaBoutique
3. Tweet it to us using @BlueBuddhaBtq: http://twitter.com/BlueBuddhaBtq
4. Email it to me at [email protected]


Learn more about Spider:
Finished Jewelry Website: http://www.silverweaver.com
Supplies, Kits, and Instruction: http://spiderchain.com

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7 Comments on "Meet Spider, our next “Ask an Artist” contributor!"

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Guest
Chris
13 years 1 month ago

I was just wondering how you get those spike beads i’d love to work with them.

Guest
Lynn Cordova
13 years 1 month ago

I recently bought volume 1 of your chainmaille dvds. i had several “AHA” moments, because your techniques are awesome.

Guest
13 years 2 months ago

I absolutely adore this series! It’s stellar! My questions would be:

1) What have you found is the best way to grow your business?
2) What are your best time management tips?
3) What inspires you the most?
4) How do begin to develop new weaves?

…Now it’s off to check her site :o) Thank you!!

Guest
Kathryn
13 years 2 months ago

How inspiring! I am a full time mom just starting out teaching and it is really tough. It is great to hear about successes!

Guest
Meridy Migchelbrink
13 years 2 months ago

I have learned a lot of weaves from Spider’s DVDs and am impressed by how terrific a teacher she is, so clear and easy to understand. I’m thrilled to hear she’s being featured here at B3. I’d like to ask her if she teaches chainmaille in the Bay Area. I live in Sacramento but would happily drive the 70 miles or so to be in a class taught by her. <3