Marion McDonald - The Sea Fairiesâ Jewelbox
June 27, 2009 | By
A artistic aunt and childhood of up-cycling discraded wire shaped Marion McDonald's crafty outlook on life. She began "pounding the pavement", selling her wire creations at the tender age of 9.
As an adult, Marion's crafty outlook and love of handmade influenced her to start her own jewelry buiness, The Sea Fairies’ Jewelbox.
Marion took a few moments form her hectic day to share with me what the handmade movement means to her, how she chose jewelry design, and the best (and worst!) part of working for herself.
Name Marion McDonald
Business Name The Sea Fairies’ Jewelbox
Where you live Oceanside, California
Personal factoids our readers might like to know
I got my degree in Italian Literature, which is fairly useless outside of academia, but I got to live in Italy for two years and spent a summer as an au pair in the Eolian Islands, off the coast of Sicily. I traveled through England, Scotland, and France before returning to the US. Studying fine art as well as architecture and historical fashion developed my sense of proportion and color style.
What is your earliest or fondest crafting memory?
I had an aunt who made beautiful beaded jewelry and also did beaded appliques on leather goods she created herself and amazing wall hangings incorporating driftwood and shells along with wool and other fibers. I loved to see her work and string beads alongside her. She died young but I have the feeling she would have had a big presence in the fiber arts world had she lived.
On a funny note, I lived in rural Vermont in junior high, and I used to make jewelry out of abandoned telephone wires. I’d twist it into colorful rings and bracelets, and my little brother and I would walk at least a mile to sit on a deserted country road (that was busier than our dirt road) and try to sell it. Entrepreneurs at 9 and 11!
What does the “handmade movement” mean to you?
I think it’s a return to an appreciation of individualism and quality goods. We’ve been inundated with 
cheap junk mass-produced in foreign countries that makes the big guy richer to the detriment of us all. The workers are exploited and we get shoddy goods that have to be constantly replaced.
Buying handmade ensures that the creator of the goods can make something for their efforts and continue to create, and the owner of the goods has a handmade original. Who needs Prada or Armani? That’s not handmade at the average upscale consumer’s level, anyway, even if you can afford it.
Tell us a bit about your craft/medium and why you chose it?
I have made jewelry since I was a little girl, mostly using glass and crystals (and telephone wire, of course!). I upgraded to gemstones a year and a half ago after being exposed to them. I had always thought of gemstone jewelry as being “mall jewelry”, but the possibilities are endless and the creativity with the myriad shapes and colors is the fun part!
How did you learn your craft? Did someone teach you?
My aunt certainly had a hand in the basic technique, but I’m mostly self-taught
What’s your crafty guilty pleasure?
I get totally lost in the gems. My kids think I’m nuts when I take the strands out into the sunlight and stare at them.
Do you work from your home, or do you have a separate work space?
I work at a desk in my living room. It’s difficult and I’m trying to improve the situation!
Do you have a “Day-Job”, or is this your sole employment?
I’m a stay-at-home-mom with two boys, so I squeeze the jewelry in around their schedule. The younger one starts kindergarten this fall, which will allow for a more regular work schedule for me.
How many hours a day do you work at your business? What are your most productive times?
Some days I get nothing done for my business, and other days I might get 2 hours in. My kids are up at dawn, so they go to bed early and that’s my free time.
Do you find that there are ebbs and flows of income with your business? How do you handle the unsteadiness, if there is any?
Luckily, we’ve squeaked by on one modest income since my 7-year old was born, so my income is the icing on the cake. It’s very nice to be making some extra money and have some luxuries.
If you could have lunch with and pick the brain of any artist living or dead, who would you choose and why?
I would choose Leonardo da Vinci. He was a visionary and so fearless, and trusted his instincts even when they could have gotten him in a lot of trouble with the powers-that-were. And he was enormously talented in many areas, of course.
What do you like most about being your own boss?
I don’t get in trouble if I feel like being a slacker!
What is the hardest part of being your own boss?
Feeling guilty when I slack! And making myself do my own marketing is torturous to me-- I was not brought up to toot my own horn.
How did you finance your business?
I took a chunk of our tax return to buy supplies. It took about 6 months for the business to become self-supporting, and then to turn a profit was fantastic! Of course, I could spend every dime on gemstones just because they’re so pretty, so I have to watch myself. I was able to finally pay back the “house loan” by paying for my boys to do some half-day camps this summer.
Who is the person most supportive of your craft business? How do they support you?
My husband is my biggest supporter—he’s a great cheerleader and will take our crazy boys out of my hair when he can. He’s also patient with my messy desk in the living room. My mom is my biggest fan—I’m waiting for her to cat burgle my desk of all the finished jewelry!
Tell us a bit about the space you create in? How has it evolved since you started your craft?
I would have to say it’s just more crowded and messier than when I started.
What do you do when you get a creative block?
Go for a walk, especially on the beach, and flip through fashion magazines. I also love BBC Edwardian and Victorian mini-series for the jewelry designs and color combinations.
What do you do outside of your craft?
I also knit, read a lot, and love to go to the beach with my sweet boys and swim in the ocean.
What is your favorite type of handmade item to buy for yourself?
I’m embarrassed to say jewelry! I’ve become obsessed with rings lately.
Where can your products be found, both online and offline?
I’m on Etsy and 1000Markets as seafairiesjewelbox, and I’m just getting set up to (hopefully!) do wholesale on trunkt.org.
Photos are courtesy of Marion McDonald
Nichole Jeske makes handmade jewelry and geekery, which can be found at Paw & Claw Designs.
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