Here I am...:D

Hello and welcome to my little corner of cyber-space!

My name is Shannon and I'm a 34-years-young, born and bred Montrealer with two degrees in Fine Arts and Illustration & Design, 1 1/2 of a degree in Interior Design and I work full time as a Graphic Designer for a small, but growing, Home Goods company. Art is in my blood and some of my friend's jokingly say School is in my blood too...;) They aren't that far off seeing as I'm considering attending some jewelry courses to expand on my knowledge and start creating different types of jewelry...;) I've even started a book collection!

I live in a large two bedroom apartment with my three beautiful cats Kaleeka, Jessica and August, all three being seniors, one of which is cuddling my hands and keyboard as I try to write this...:) Large as my apartment is, it still barely holds my art supplies and now I've added all the beads! *lol* Aside from making jewelry, I love to draw, read, eat fabulous food, watch show jumping, hockey & design oriented programs on TV, play with my cats, hang out with my wonderful friends & family, play make-up with or without other people, shop and most important and fun of all, laugh.

I often get asked how I got into Jewelry Design. I honestly have no clue! *lol* I can tell you when I started listing, which was in July 2008, but I can't tell you why I made my first piece...:) All I know is that I was introduced to Etsy in January 2008 by my best-friend, started getting ideas and inspiration from the amazing artisans all over Etsy and then made a profile in February. Initially, I wanted to make wonderful papers and create a Gifting empire. That's where the name Gifted Designs came from. The name has a double meaning...it salutes the act of giving gifts to those you love while highlighting that I am a gifted individual and that I love sharing that with everyone...:) I don't really know when my focus shifted from paper crafts to jewelry, but it did and am I ever GLAD! I still want to make paper goods, but it would be as a compliment to my jewelry. I honestly never even conceived of how much I would LOVE making jewelry! The bug really bit me in the bum!

Gifted Designs' purpose is to create beautiful, OOAK pieces of jewelry. No two pieces will ever look exactly alike. Why? Because I believe that Beauty is individualistic and that each person expresses that Beauty in different ways. Therefore, they each need their own pieces...:) Jewelry makes the beauty you feel on the inside spontaneously combust to the outside of your being. When YOU feel beautiful, it is contagious and those around you start feeling pretty awesome themselves. It truly is a gift you are giving not only to yourself, but those around you. To help in bringing out that inner beauty, I have two collections to choose from. One has absolutely stunning precious and semi precious stones and artisan made glass or ceramic and the other is more eclectic with found objects, different metals, glass, textiles, buttons, paper and anything else I may get my hands on...I even considered door plates once! These two collections provide the variety needed. I truly feel that EVERY woman out there is beautiful and deserves to FEEL beautiful!

I'm hoping to share my crafts and myself with you and that you enjoy reading about my exploits!
♥