Its quite the pleasure to encounter such talent that has derived from pure love & passion, we recently had the sweet opportunity to catch up with Jenna of Shape & Strike Jewelry and she gave us a glimpse of her world in this fun articulated Q&A interview:
“Hi! I’m Jenna Spearing, the maker of Shape & Strike Jewelry. I’ve been doing Shape & Strike for about a year and a half now, though 2016 is my first year doing markets like Portobello West. From 9-5 I work in marketing for an animation studio that makes kids’ cartoons. The rest of the time, Shape & Strike has to compete with my other hobbies—I’m also a writer, pole dancer, rock collector and dragon boater”.
What do you inject in your brand that gives us the true reflection of who you are?
“Bold designs that catch the eye. Jewelry has always been the crucial way that I express myself—my dorky emo high school days with top-notch spiky leather bracelets have developed into a taste for unique gemstones and metalwork, but the unifying factor has always been a taste for that piece that will make people do a double take. Something you can wear any day to any occasion with any outfit, but is still going to wow anyone with a taste for the unusual. There’s also the storyteller in me (I studied creative writing in university) that wants every piece I wear and make to have a story, whether in its origin (who or where it came from) or a design that reflects something important to me”.
Lets go back, what was your very first creative something you made?
“My first own-able creative thing outside of school was a poem in about grade 4 – I was appalled at a rash of littering at a natural spring near my grandparents’ home, and I just felt compelled to write about it. But my first piece of jewelry came much later – it was a pendant made out of coconut, while I was on a sailing trip in French Polynesia when I was fresh out of high school at 18. I was just killing time during a few days at sea between islands, and most of my shipmates were doing the same. I cut the coconut shell into a circle, sanded it down and carved a Marquesan compass symbol into it and I still have it”.
Share with us that appetite in a typical day of stepping into your studio for creating what you love:
“I’ll start by sketching with my morning coffee on a weekend, just getting into a creative head space, either just doodling fun shapes (I’m a geometric doodler, which is where a lot of my designs come from) or going a bit off-brand into faces and people. Then I’ll turn up the music and hop on the bench. Often my partner is doing some woodwork at the same time, so our apartment is a cacophony of saws, drills, hammers, and covered in metal shavings and sawdust within a few hours. It’s a great environment for creativity and hard work. The day ends with a cooperative clean-up effort…and then usually beer and take-out”.
Success comes with failures; give us an example that honed your craft from an experience
“For my first ever market, I was panicked about having enough product to fill my table, so as the date approached, I was rushing, not really thinking through the details. I ended up with a bunch of pieces that either hang at a funny angle, have bits that snapped off or otherwise got screwed up and aren’t salvageable. That’s an expensive lesson if you’re working with sterling silver! Now I take my time even when it feels like I don’t have any, and if I feel panicked or rushed, I get up and walk away before making my next move”.
What stirred the inspiration towards your ultimate dream to create what you do?
“This might sound weird, but pole dancing. I’ve met so many powerful, amazing women through pole fitness, at Tantra Fitness here in Vancouver and Aradia Fitness in Calgary, being around them and learning to harness what my body is capable of allowed me to build my confidence and self-awareness to the point where I could take my dreams seriously—not just see them as fantasies I wasn’t good enough to achieve. I never thought I’d be here—right now I’m preparing for Portobello and another market this fall, and training for a pole competition at the same time. I can hardly believe either of those things is a reality, let alone both happening simultaneously! Pole is the key thing in my life that made me go “You know what? I can do that!” and not just about jewelry, but about travel, work, life – everything. It goes the other way too—I’ve incorporated my love for pole into my line of Pole Sprite pendants”.
If you were to describe yourself as a car, which one would it be?
“I’ve always identified with the Volkswagen bug. Round, sturdy, kind of strange but reliable and safe. Also the basis of a really great N64 game called Beetle Adventure Racing, which is a noble thing to aspire to”.
Shout out of love – Spread the love for some of your favourite creators:
“I am totally in love with everything Smithstine does. It’s the Alberta heart and landscape-inspired designs—I’m Calgary-born and raised, and the prairies and Rockies still have a firm grip on my soul. Her shapes are so precise and so beautiful. And she dragon boats! (http://www.smithstine.com/) ”
“The whimsy and unusual nature in everything Phaulet creates has also made me a lifelong fan of her jewelry. Wearing her earrings is like wearing a story—everyone wants to reach out and grab them to get a closer look. (http://www.phaulet.com/) ”
meet jenna along with 40 + carefully curated local artists on september 17 and 18 at our fall market held at the Creekside Community Recreation Centre (1 athletes way, vancouver) xo
find more of Jenna at these sweet places:
IG: @shapeandstrike https://www.instagram.com/shapeandstrike/