Jodi Bombardier of Jewels by Jules
September 02, 2009 | By desertmaidenbathworks
Holy wire wrapping, Batman! Jodi has it goin' on! Extremely talented and successful, this woman in business has big plans to make it big. Thanks for interviewing with us, Jodi!
Name - Jodi Bombardier
Business Name - Jewels By Jules. My 11 year old is Jules. When I named the
business, she was only 4 and she thought I was the greatest mom ever and
although a pre-teen, thankfully she still does.
Location - Tucson, AZ
Do you have any interesting personal factoids?
I have owned a medical transcriptionservice for 15 years and after working long hours for many years, I needed downtime. I crocheted for 30+ years but that was bothering my hands along with all the typing and then I discovered memory wire.
I have three kids ages 26, 11, and 9 (no typo there!) and I have three grandsons ages 8, 6 and 3.
Tell me about your craft/mediums.
It took me awhile to find my niche with jewelry. After 4 years of designing with memory wire and struggling
to string and crimp, I discovered wire. I love working with wire - the ideas seem so endless wit
h what can be done with wire. I also love to forge. At one time, I thought I wanted to be a goldsmith but I quickly discovered, after taking a few smithing classes, that cold connections is the thing for me.
Why do you love your particular mediums?
Wire is so forgiving. If I run out of wire, it is easy to add more. If my wire breaks, again, it is easy to add more. I found stringing and crimping very unforgiving - if I messed up a crimp, I had to restring - I was better at unsuccessfully crimping than successfully crimping! I liked working with memory wire when I first started out but it is very limited.
Who are your influences?
I have two - (1) Eni Oken. Not only is her work amazing but she is also a very smart woman. (2) Gwen Stefani. Although Ms. Stefani does not create jewelry, she is certainly an artist. I believe she is a brilliant businesswoman. Lead singer of No Doubt, went out on her own and has been a huge success, started a clothing line and perfume line. This does not happen by chance but rather happens with goals, common sense, and business savvy.
Tell me about your most enjoyable experience with a customer.
I love it when a customer sends me pictures of what they have made from one of my tutorials. It is very 
interesting to see how something I designed is interpreted by another artist.
Where can we find your work?
www.Jewels-By-Jules.com
JewelsByJules.Artfire.com
www.Online-Wire-Wrapping-Instructions.com
Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, Az
The Turquoise Door, Park City, UT
What do you do outside of your business?
Outside of my typing service and making jewelry, I am a freelance writer for Interweave Press. I write for Step By Step Wire Jewelry magazine, am one of the contributing artistans to the book Wire Style by
Denise Peck, and now have my own book in the works!
What does the "handmade movement" mean to you?
It means a lot to me. It is putting your love, your heart into what you are doing, creating beautiful things. We are so unrecognized. I stand behind and promote other artists because I believe the general public does not realize what we put into our creations, our designs. I think there is a poor understanding of what we use to create our products - silver plated or sterling silver - that kind of stuff - huge difference! I blog, Twitter, and Facebook about artists who create amazing work because there are so many talented artisans that just don't get the recognition they deserve.
If you could have lunch with and pick the brain of any artist living or dead, who would you choose and why?
Eni Oken and I are internet friends and I constantly pick her brain and have learned so much for her but if I picked someone who I have never met, hands down, Gwen Stefani. I would ask her what her goals were and how she achieved them. You don't achieve what she has by not being focused - you have to go for 
your brass ring with a plan!
Who is the person most supportive of your craft business? How do they support you?
My significant other, Mark, and my kids. They all critique my work and always tell me if something is "cool" or "no, I don't like that." My favorite, "Oh, I would wear that." Okay, so that means now I have to make
one to fit you! Mark, Jules (daughter) and Joey (son) understand that this is something that I need to do and they encourage me to go for it.
Photos are courtesy of Jodi Bombardier
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