Designer Interview: starcrossed lovelies

"starcrossed lovelies is a jewelry and accessories brand for celestial love stories. our pieces are for magical girls, dreamers, witches and lovers." -starcrossed lovelies website

 

We sat down with Christen, the designer of jewelry brand starcrossed lovelies, to chat about her new brand and influences. starcrossed lovelies is one of our new vendors for 2021 and we're excited to see more from this brand!

 

What got you interested in creating jewelry and starting a brand?

                I’ve always been a very self-motivated person with a lot of ideas – too many, in fact. I believe I told my mother in kindergarten that I wanted to grow up to be a ballerina-princess-artist-astronomer, so I suppose starcrossed lovelies is a way for me to combine some of those dreams in a way that I find meaningful and exciting.

I’ve always loved to draw and paint and craft ever since I was very young. In the house I grew up in, our basement was called “the craft room” and it had a work bench with tons of different mediums for me to play with whenever I wanted to. I have a lot of memories of being up late at night glueing glitter and feathers on things or making stuff for my Barbies to wear. I knew I wanted to do something with art when I grew up, and originally my plan was to work in film. I got my Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Kansas City Art Institute and I majored in Animation, but my artistic journey didn’t end up leading me out to LA to work at a studio like I had planned. I discovered Lolita fashion in college and I got really involved in the community, which eventually lead to my partnership with several other KCAI grads who helped to develop Paradiso, the annual JFashion gala event we host here in Kansas City.

I think that I’ve always wanted the opportunity to be able to make work for others to appreciate and enjoy, and jewelry is a very tangible medium for that. When you choose to wear a piece of jewelry, you’re choosing part of how you want to portray yourself for that day, and as an artist it’s a direct way to display your work in front of other viewers without being confined to a gallery space which is really convenient! I wanted to take some of the skills I’d learned in college and find a new way to repurpose them, so I think that had been in the back of my mind for a while. I’ve talked many times with friends about wanting to be self employed or have my own business, and 2020 gave me the time I needed to reflect on what that vision meant and how I could personally achieve that in my own way. I think I was finally in the right place to actually do something about this particular dream and invest the time and attention into it to make it happen.

starcrossed lovelies designer

 

Where do you find inspiration?

                I love stories, particularly tragic romance stories! I’ve always been very into media with strong heroine characters, and so a lot of my inspiration comes from magical girls or other female leading roles. The Rose of Versailles, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Sailor Moon and Princess Tutu are very close to my heart, but I also really love other story formats besides anime. I would say I draw a lot of inspiration from ballet as well, particularly Giselle and Swan Lake. I’ve also always been fascinated by space, so motifs like stars and moons and other astronomical related imagery make me happy and I want to be able to share that love with other people who feel the same.

 

What does your work aim to convey?

                I think that I have a few core beliefs that I want to try to share with my work. I want people to be able to find a sense of wonder and magic in every day life, and within themselves. I also really want to focus my attention on the love between many types of partners, not just romantic love. Growing up in the 90’s, there were a lot of movies and shows and even products that centered around best friends, and I want to bring back some of that nostalgia in my jewelry.

How has your artistic practice changed over the years?

                In highschool most of my artwork was digital illustration that I offered on a commission basis. I did a lot of character reference sheets and character art illustrations, and that’s originally what I thought I wanted to do as a career. I went to KCAI to pursue animation and character design, and then I fell in love with the experimental process of stop motion animation, and I explored a lot of different sculptural mediums during that time. During my time at college, I also learned about 3D modeling as part of my animation curriculum and although I thought I’d never use that knowledge again, I’m now making my jewelry using those processes! It’s so funny how skills like that can end up being useful when you never expected them to be.

What is your artistic process like?

                I’m constantly consuming media these days, and so I’m always saving pictures of pretty things. I actually kept a tumblr blog for a few years that I used as an image dump for things that either made me happy or were thought provoking, and so I often dig through those pages sometimes when I’m looking for ideas or even when I just need a pick me up. Once I have an idea I like, I start sketching it out. I usually have more than one idea at a time, so getting them out on paper helps me keep track of all the things I want to do and make as well as all of the considerations I’ve already had while laying in bed and thinking about how I want something to look in the end. After I’ve got some sketches I like, I usually go back to the computer to find more references and do some materials research to make sure that if there are any items that I can’t make myself, I can find them to use later. Once that’s all done, I open up Blender and Tinkercad to start building my 3D models. Depending on what I’m trying to make, I also may use Illustrator to help me make some needed vectors. Then, when I’ve got a model ready, it’s time to test, test, and then test some more. I currently 3D print all of my items at home, so it can take several tries to make sure that the prints come out clean, the correct size, and the correct color. I mix all of my resin colors by hand, and it can take me a few tries to get to the color I’m imagining in my head, so I end up with a lot of “test” prints laying all over the house in wrong colors. I’m not sure what to do with all of those yet – right now they live in a box that I call my print graveyard.

Once I’m happy with the print and the color and everything else, then it’s time to sand them, spray them with UV protector and other clear coats, add rhinestones and connect them to jewelry findings to make them into wearable art.    

Which tools do you use the most?

                Although I build a lot of my designs in Blender, a lot of the adjustments and final touches happen in Tinkercad. I really like how clean the interface is and how quickly I can do simple tasks. I’m constantly using my resin printer, and of course the resin to go in the machine. I would also be completely lost without all of my pairs of tweezers that I use for setting gems and cleaning up prints!

What do you hope to do in 2022?

                I’m definitely hoping to be able to attend an in-person event in 2022 to try selling items at an artist alley or something similar for the first time. I’m also really interested in designing some fabric prints and other accessories in the future – not just jewelry. My sketchbook is already full of things that I want to get done but haven’t had the time to work on yet, particularly some Revolutionary Girl Utena inspired pieces that I’m really excited about!

 

 

Thanks for sharing with us, Christen!

Find more of her work:

Facebook

Instagram

In her shop

On Lolita Collective

 


18 comments


  • Eric Jones

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  • Eric Jones

    Hey there, I just found your site, quick question…

    My name’s Eric, I found lolitacollective.com after doing a quick search – you showed up near the top of the rankings, so whatever you’re doing for SEO, looks like it’s working well.

    So here’s my question – what happens AFTER someone lands on your site? Anything?

    Research tells us at least 70% of the people who find your site, after a quick once-over, they disappear… forever.

    That means that all the work and effort you put into getting them to show up, goes down the tubes.

    Why would you want all that good work – and the great site you’ve built – go to waste?

    Because the odds are they’ll just skip over calling or even grabbing their phone, leaving you high and dry.

    But here’s a thought… what if you could make it super-simple for someone to raise their hand, say, “okay, let’s talk” without requiring them to even pull their cell phone from their pocket?

    You can – thanks to revolutionary new software that can literally make that first call happen NOW.

    Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that sits on your site, ready and waiting to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know IMMEDIATELY – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re still there at your site.

    You know, strike when the iron’s hot!

    CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to try out a Live Demo with Talk With Web Visitor now to see exactly how it works.

    When targeting leads, you HAVE to act fast – the difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes later is huge – like 100 times better!

    That’s why you should check out our new SMS Text With Lead feature as well… once you’ve captured the phone number of the website visitor, you can automatically kick off a text message (SMS) conversation with them.

    Imagine how powerful this could be – even if they don’t take you up on your offer immediately, you can stay in touch with them using text messages to make new offers, provide links to great content, and build your credibility.

    Just this alone could be a game changer to make your website even more effective.

    Strike when the iron’s hot!

    CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to learn more about everything Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business – you’ll be amazed.

    Thanks and keep up the great work!

    Eric
    PS: Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – you could be converting up to 100x more leads immediately!
    It even includes International Long Distance Calling.
    Stop wasting money chasing eyeballs that don’t turn into paying customers.
    CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.

    If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://jumboleadmagnet.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=lolitacollective.com


  • Eric Jones

    My name’s Eric and I just came across your website – lolitacollective.com – in the search results.

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  • Eric Jones

    Hi, Eric here with a quick thought about your website lolitacollective.com…

    I’m on the internet a lot and I look at a lot of business websites.

    Like yours, many of them have great content.

    But all too often, they come up short when it comes to engaging and connecting with anyone who visits.

    I get it – it’s hard. Studies show 7 out of 10 people who land on a site, abandon it in moments without leaving even a trace. You got the eyeball, but nothing else.

    Here’s a solution for you…

    Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. You’ll know immediately they’re interested and you can call them directly to talk with them literally while they’re still on the web looking at your site.

    CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to try out a Live Demo with Talk With Web Visitor now to see exactly how it works.

    It could be huge for your business – and because you’ve got that phone number, with our new SMS Text With Lead feature, you can automatically start a text (SMS) conversation – immediately… and contacting someone in that 5 minute window is 100 times more powerful than reaching out 30 minutes or more later.

    Plus, with text messaging you can follow up later with new offers, content links, even just follow up notes to keep the conversation going.

    Everything I’ve just described is extremely simple to implement, cost-effective, and profitable.

    CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to discover what Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business.

    You could be converting up to 100X more eyeballs into leads today!

    Eric
    PS: Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling.
    You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting.
    CLICK HERE https://jumboleadmagnet.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.

    If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://jumboleadmagnet.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=lolitacollective.com


  • Eric Jones

    Hi, Eric here with a quick thought about your website lolitacollective.com…

    I’m on the internet a lot and I look at a lot of business websites.

    Like yours, many of them have great content.

    But all too often, they come up short when it comes to engaging and connecting with anyone who visits.

    I get it – it’s hard. Studies show 7 out of 10 people who land on a site, abandon it in moments without leaving even a trace. You got the eyeball, but nothing else.

    Here’s a solution for you…

    Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. You’ll know immediately they’re interested and you can call them directly to talk with them literally while they’re still on the web looking at your site.

    CLICK HERE http://talkwithwebtraffic.com to try out a Live Demo with Talk With Web Visitor now to see exactly how it works.

    It could be huge for your business – and because you’ve got that phone number, with our new SMS Text With Lead feature, you can automatically start a text (SMS) conversation – immediately… and contacting someone in that 5 minute window is 100 times more powerful than reaching out 30 minutes or more later.

    Plus, with text messaging you can follow up later with new offers, content links, even just follow up notes to keep the conversation going.

    Everything I’ve just described is extremely simple to implement, cost-effective, and profitable.

    CLICK HERE http://talkwithwebtraffic.com to discover what Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business.

    You could be converting up to 100X more eyeballs into leads today!

    Eric
    PS: Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling.
    You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting.
    CLICK HERE http://talkwithwebtraffic.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.

    If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://talkwithwebtraffic.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=lolitacollective.com


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