Cathy Stein of EDC Collective
August 07, 2009 | By
Cathy is one eclectic chick! Located in Dallas/ Fort Worth is beyond awesome all on its own, but she works in jewelry, photography and graphic design! Though, EDC has a secret - I dare you to read on to see what else EDC encompasses!
Tell me about yourself?
I'm Cathy Stein with EDCCollective and Eclectic Design Choices located in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, TX, USA.
Tell me about your craft/mediums.
I’m afraid I can’t pick just one. That’s why I put the word “eclectic” in the name of my business. I love designing and making jewelry from a variety of materials including pearls, gemstones, coral, feathers and crystal and glass beads. I used to have time to paint, but I currently channel that interest into my photography, altered photos and graphic design services. I also enjoy crafting things from wood and hope to find more time for this in the coming months.
Why do you love your particular mediums?
I love the range of colors, shapes and textures that abound in the natural world. Whether I am trying to capture that in a photo or in designing and working with nature’s bounty, it is gratifying to produce something that reflects the richness found in nature.
Who are your influences?
I watched both of my parents create in a variety of mediums as I was growing up. They both supported and encouraged my creative talents in their own ways. My high school art teachers also helped foster my creative talents.
Tell me about your most enjoyable experience with a customer.
I think the experience that I have enjoyed the most to date was a request to create some custom feather wrap pendants. This customer had been looking for someone to create what she had in her head for several months. I loved being challenged to learn to work with the feathers, horse hair and leather that I needed to complete her request. I enjoyed working with the feathers so much that I have added feather 
jewelry items to my shop.
Where can we find your work?
You can find my current creations in my Etsy shop, edccollective.etsy.com . My website, www.eclecticdesignchoices.com, also has links to my blog, photos, and more.
What do you do outside of your business?
Another branch of Eclectic Design Choices that is not evident on Etsy is my landscape design and garden coaching services, www.tinyurl.com/EDCLandscapeDesign. I find that designing landscapes with an eye to plant structure and color is very similar to designing jewelry with nature’s materials.
If you could have lunch with and pick the brain of any artist living or dead, who would you choose and why?
I would love to be able to break bread with Leonardo da Vinci. He was extremely talented and had a wonderful curiosity about why things worked as they did. He was both a scientist and an artist. The more I learn about him, the more I’m convinced that any subject that he decided to apply himself to would have benefited from his inquiring mind. Leonardo’s artistic accomplishments hold their own when compared to his intellectual ones. I think having the opportunity to have a discussion with him would have been truly inspiring.
Who is the person most supportive of your craft business? How do they support you?
While I have a lot of cheerleaders for this relatively new venture of mine, I would have to say that the person who is most supportive of all of the time I am spending creating and promoting has been my husband. Trying to find a balance between the business and my family has been a challenge. My husband has not griped when I have gotten behind on the laundry, yard work or various other things that I normally do. He has also proudly promoted my products when he has had the opportunity.
How did you get the name for your shop/business? What is the story behind it?
The EDC part of my shop name stands for Eclectic Design Choices. I came up with that name because I have done a variety of design work both for pay and in the course of my volunteer work over the years, and it was an available domain name for my business. When I signed up on Etsy, EclecticDesignChoices was one letter too long and EDC was one letter too short. Since my mom and I were opening the Etsy shop together, I added Collective to EDC for the name of our shop to fit within Etsy's name length convention.
Just for kicks: What are 3 things people don't know about you?
1) EDCCollective is a collaborative effort with my mom. Other family members contribute occasionally to our shop.
2) EDCCollective carries vintage items as well as handmade.
3) I earned a bachelor of science in physics from UTA and taught high school physics for a number of years.
Photos are courtesy of Cathy Stein
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