By Sarah Arnold, Editor
Teachers Jennifer O’Hara and Emily VanDelinder spent their summers getting in touch with their artsy sides by making unique, handcrafted jewelry and starting their own online business.
VanDelinder, an art teacher, has always loved making jewelry.
“It is incredibly creative and unlike any other jewelry I’ve ever seen,” senior and former art club member Kayla Coulter said.
VanDelinder showed off some of her talent and brought her jewelry to a house party in St. Charles to sell. The colors she uses in her jewelry designs are put together spontaneously.
“I’ll get broken beads from an antique store, and then those beads inspire the piece,” VanDelinder said.
This summer VanDelinder showed biology teacher Jennifer O’Hara how to make lampwork beads. O’Hara has made lanyards that were purchased by other teachers. A goal of VanDelinder’s is to eventually get art club to make lanyards that will be available for students.
“Everything she does makes me think I wish I thought of that,” Coulter said.
O’Hara has been making handmade jewelry since high school, and has made at least 20 lanyards that cost only $15 apiece. When designing a piece, she likes to look at all of the beads at once to make it easier for her to decide what looks good together.
“My husband showed us [Etsy, a craft site] and it was really easy to use, so we figured since we spent the summer making jewelry, we should probably sell some of it,” O’Hara said.
The jewelry is for sale at birdsprouts.etsy.com, which VanDelinder and O’Hara launched in August. They sell handmade jewelry and handmade fashion accessories, VanDelinder said.
“[Etsy’s] cool because it is crazy cheap,” O’Hara said. “You can make suggestions such as telling someone you really like their scarf, but would like it even better in pink.”