JulieLoves

It’s about time I share with you my love for one of my favourite crafters in the world, Victoria from Die Young Stay Pretty. I’m not just saying that because she is one of my best friends, promise! She actually inspired me to start Julie and The Knits and create my Etsy shop.

Victoria lives in Paris and launched her brand Die Young, Stay Pretty a few years ago. She makes necklaces, earrings, brooches and more based on what she loves. As we have very similar taste, I tend to love every single piece she creates, so I have grown a nice personal collection of DYSP pretties over the years – see the pic at the end of this post! Time to find out more about this talented lady.

Hi Victoria! Tell us more about Die Young Stay Pretty

Hello Julie! Die Young, Stay Pretty is a rock’n’kitsch jewelry brand I created in May 2009. At the time, I was unemployed and a bit depressed: I needed to do something to make me feel better, using my creativity. Since forever, I’ve been creating things from scratch, and I really love crafting and the DIY spirit. I naturally decided to create jewelry, the medium of choice for expressing myself: I could mix my love of kitschy and quirky with musical and cinematographic references.

What inspires when you create new items?

Is it okay if I answer “everything”? ;-) I’m similar to a sponge as far as inspiration is concerned: I feed on everything I see. I collect thousands & thousands of pictures on my computer of things that inspire me: bands, fashion, tattoos, home decors, paintings, pop culture stuff, horror movies stills, guitars, food, travels…

You can follow my Pinterest if you wish: http://www.pinterest.com/dieyoungbaby/boards/

What are your favourite DYSP creations?

Definitely, horror movies brooches!! Especially if worn with a granny cardigan. Also, I made a very ridiculous belt buckle for a friend featuring Annette and Monsieur Roger, 2 characters from a very cheesy & silly French TV show from the 90’s. I was so fond to work on such a piece!

What piece of advice would you give to creative people who’d like to start selling their work?

This is going to sound a little bit cliché, but don’t give up and don’t be too hard on yourself. Crafting and DIY should be fun, not a constraint.

Links to your website/shops

You can buy my jewels on Dawanda and Tictail:

And you can follow my Facebook page for news & information:

https://www.facebook.com/dieyoungstayprettyboutique

Hope you love Victoria’s jewelry as much as I do, make sure you check out her shops for more! And without further ado, here is my cherished DYSP collection! I wear my Moss necklace almost every day ♥♥♥

When I started JATK in 2012, I used to knit only my favourite things – headbands, hair clips and brooches – accessories are indispensable in my life! The more I have the better, but I always try to find what I call “special” ones. When I came across Sugar & Vice on Instagram, I just loved their super original acrylic necklaces AND the fact that they happily make custom items (like me)! You can have all the accessories in the world, but nothing beats a unique statement necklace…

I asked Sarah from S&V a few questions about her work and selected pictures of my favourite items. Plus scroll down to check out the personalised necklace they made for my best pal!

– Tell us about Sugar & Vice

Sugar & Vice is in its sixth year now, we started off small selling jewellery on myspace and bigcartel and then steadily grew to the point where, although it’s still run by just two of us, we now own three laser cutters for making jewellery and have just launched a clothing line.

– What inspires when you create new items?

Absolutely everything! We get inspiration from little things in every day life and sometimes even from the acrylic itself! We recently got a beautiful radiant acrylic and we’ve been making items based on what it reminds us of. The beauty of working with this medium is that we can have an idea, create a design and see it come to life all within the same day. It’s very exciting.

– What are your favourite S&V creations?

That’s a tough one! I’m proud of them all, although constantly striving to be better does mean it’s very tempting to tweak past designs based on what we’ve learnt. The whole thing is a never-ending process and there’s always work to be done. Specifically though, my personal favourites are the Magpie, the Pug and the Dia De Los Muertos necklaces. I love statement pieces so the bigger, more eye catching pieces always end up being my favourites. Go big or go home, right? :)

– What piece of advice would you give to creative people who’d like to start selling their work?

Just go for it. Don’t overthink it and don’t hesitate. Be cautious where money is concerned because it’s still a very tough financial climate for small businesses but don’t let it stop you if you’ve got the passion for it. It’s a 7 day a week job and can become a little all consuming at times but it’s incredibly satisfying work and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

Here is the amazing custom order they designed for my friend Victoria (a tribute to her own jewellery brand which I’ll tell you more about soon!):

I am yet to decide which piece to get for myself – I love so many of them! :)

Check out Sugar & Vice’s jewellery and clothing on their website http://www.sugarandvicedesigns.com and also on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/sugarandvicedesigns Sugar & Vice have a second Etsy store in which they provide other companies with charms and supplies to make their own jewellery (clever idea!) http://www.etsy.com/shop/svcharms