Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Margolies.
Melissa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I will never forget sitting across a campfire from my boyfriend, surrounded by a blanket of snow and complete silence as we rang in 2020. We had decided to rent a remote cabin, by ourselves, as an easy out from the open bars and apartment parties of NYE in NYC. Not one for resolutions, he asked, “what do you want this year?”. I wanted more of *this*. More quiet, more sky, more porch time, more fires, more stars, more card games, more crafts, more nature. I wanted to stop trying to cram life into the hours after work and create space where the two could peacefully coexist. Fast forward a few months and into a global pandemic and my boyfriend rolled over one morning and said, “Would you move to Texas?” Without thinking I responded, “let’s do it” and hopped on Zillow. It was barely 48 hours before we fell in love and were making an offer on a little house an hour south of Austin. We found a flight a few days later to check out our new purchase, but, upon arrival, were both instantly ill – I’ll spare you the details but we had made a huge mistake. The realtor thought it best to take us to see a few other places – after all, we’d come all this way – and we silently obliged.
The final home we saw that day was surrounded by thigh high grasses and heritage oaks, the crepe myrtle was in bloom and a cool breeze moved the swing on the porch, there were two (!) firepits and most importantly, the only sound was the birds. As we stood in the living room, a deer walked right up the front steps and poked her head in the front door; This was it. We landed in Austin a month later.
I knew immediately that this was my opportunity to get back to something creative, to do something with my days I truly enjoyed. I have grown up drawing, painting, sitting at a pottery wheel, sculpting, beading, tie-dying – you name the craft, I am here for it. I’m unsure where it came from but one morning, I had the pull to learn to metalsmith – so I took to the internet for some instructional videos and ordered some basic tools. I made my first ring in late 2020 and it was bad – so so bad. It took me a few weeks to work up the courage to try again but I did, and I was hooked.
I started to share what I was making about a year ago and almost instantly had someone reach out to purchase one of the bigger pieces I had made. Within a month, I had a shop downtown asking to carry some of my work. So, I’m running with it. Spending my days creating is all I have ever wanted and having people connect with the pieces I create so deeply that they want to purchase it and wear them is a pretty inexplicable feeling.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My greatest challenge is most definitely the bouts of imposter syndrome. Yes, there are many moments where I look down at something I’ve created in awe or look around at what I’m building and feel immensely proud – but there are just as many moments where I wonder if my work is good enough and if this is something that I can actually be successful at. When imposter syndrome rolls in, I am reminded that I have not been at this for years nor do I have any formal training, and all I can hear is a loud “what gives me the right to be here?!”
The other lesson I’m forever learning is balance. I find immense joy in the act of creating and it is where I want to spend my time, but running a small business requires me to wear so many other hats. I am a website developer, product photographer, copywriter, content creator, accountant, head of purchasing, shipping manager and customer service representative – to name a few. I think a common misconception about working for yourself means spending your time as you please, but it has been extremely important for me to create space for the tasks I don’t perhaps love as much as these are so often the tasks that get my product in the hands of customers.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I hand make jewelry in my home studio in the hill country. My work is entirely hand-forged in precious metals (sterling silver + 14K gold) and features natural stones such as turquoise, opals, jaspers + agates.
My most loved pieces are those with multiple stones, most notably my “cairn” ring. One of the first rings I created – perhaps even the ring I envisioned when I decided to teach myself to metalsmith – featured a stack of organically shaped stones of varying blues + greens. I named it the “cairn” ring after the stacks of rocks you so often find trailside indicating that someone has been there before you and you are headed in the right direction. Taking rocks from all over the world, from all different periods of time and deciding which should spend forever together – and how – is where I believe my work shines and while this design has had a lot of refining since that first iteration, these are by far my most requested piece.
I say this often but this work is as much about me as it is about ‘you’. I have tried so hard to organize myself and optimize my process around the larger collections I release – I have tried to select stones ahead of time, I have tried to draw out designs, I have tried to work in batches – and I simply cannot. I have come to learn that my creativity requires more freedom so, instead, I wake up every morning, select the stones that are speaking to me and just create around them. It definitely means I work slower, I can create less and it results in more one of a kind items but finding “play” in my day to day is my non-negotiable.
Speaking of play, if you swing by to pick up a piece, it’s highly likely I’ll offer you something more permanent, a la a stick+poke tattoo!
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I don’t actually have a mentor and networking is one of the scariest things to me (I am a complete introvert – I live for long days alone in a quiet studio). That said, for all its flaws, Instagram has really opened my eyes to a world of incredible humans + artists and most of the connections I have made started by simply telling someone I love what they’re doing and/or creating. So I say, explore and never shy away from sharing the love!
Pricing:
- Pieces generally range from $100-$500
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@rollingstonetradingco.com
- Website: www.rollingstonetradingco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rollingstonetradingco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rollingstonetradingco
Image Credits
Rose Lichtenfels @ Rose Flowr Creative (Product shots are my own)
