Savvy Seller: Teri of The Beaded Branch

As an Etsy lover and seller, I want to begin featuring some fellow Etsians and their crafts. First up, my plurk buddy, Teri, of The Beaded Branch. She is the creator of some fantastic handmade jewelry and the mother of some adventurous twin boys.

Teri, tell us a little bit about yourself.

My name is Teri Landow, and I’m the owner and chief designer of The Beaded Branch. I’m the mother of identical twin boys, wife to Tim, and a jewelry maker. I have been crafting and creating for my entire life, in one way or another. I grew up in a home with a mother who sewed almost continually and was always trying her hand at some new craft, and a father who has been working with wood in his spare time for as long as I can remember, so I guess I come by my need to create honestly.

Jewelry, however, is my first love. I fell into it about 10 years ago when I took a class on hand knotting pearls at a local bead store. I loved it and soon became addicted. My designs, I feel, are very eclectic. I can’t seem to settle into one crafting medium or another, so I try to incorporate them all into my jewelry making. I love to learn and take on the challenges of a new medium, then figure out how to use it in my jewelry making.

What type of jewelry do you like to create?

I create one of a kind, handcrafted jewelry, mostly beaded, because it is my first love. However, because I love to craft, I seem to have trouble contenting myself with one medium. I have branched out, and play with a lot of different mediums. I play with silver clay, embossing powders, anything I can get my hands on. And the fabulous thing about all these different mediums is that I can incorporate them into the jewelry I make.

What inspires you?

Everything. Books I read, nature, architecture, photography, art, friends, family, magazines and movies. I try to glean inspiration from wherever I can get it. People inspire me the most. I’ll pick a person I know and create a bunch of jewelry that I believe they would like. I think about the colors they wear, or should wear, what styles they like to wear, how they carry themselves, everything. I believe that if one person in the world likes it, then there is a pretty good chance that there is atleast one other person in the world who will like it, too.

How did you discover Etsy?

I was looking for a new selling venue because running my own Web site was taking up way to much of my time. I did research and started asking about different selling venues on some of the e-mail groups I was on at the time. I joined Etsy and the world really opened up to me.

Where can we purchase your designs?

I started off selling at alocal craft show, which I still do, Fluvanna County Old Farm Day. I also do one or two other very small local craft shows, as time permits. After starting to sell at craft shows, I started an online store at www.thebeadedbranch.com. Over the last year, I finally decided to start slowly moving all of my stock over to my store on Etsy, www.TheBeadedBranch.etsy.com. I also sell on consignment at a small local store, the Palmyra Country Store.

What is your favorite thing to create?

It really depends on my mood. I love working on my Present Past Treasures pendants because they are always going to be unique, and I never know what they're going to look like when I’m finished. I also love working on my Angel Feet line when time permits. They take longer because each charm is hand carved out of a tiny lump of silver clay, then filed, fired, polished and antiqued. I guess I just can’t concentrate on one thing that I love to create.

What have you created that you are most proud of?

My twin boys. But craftwise, I’m terribly proud of my Present Past Treasure pendants, which I refer to as my “happy accident” jewelry. They are completely unique and I’ve never seen anything like them anyplace else.

Is Etsy your only job, or just a hobby?

This is a difficult question to answer. Jewelry making is a hobby for me, but what I do on Etsy is a business and a job. Part time, at best, though. I don’t have a job outside the home, since I am a mom and housewife. I’m lucky that my hubby makes enough in his job that we can generally squeak by without having to scrimp too much.

What do you do when you're not creating?

Chase my identical twin boys around and try to keep them from killing themselves or each other. When I’m not doing that, I also read a lot, clean house, and basically do all the stuff a housewife and mom of two active toddlers does.

Tell us anything else you'd like us to know.

I also do custom work and minor jewelry repairs. Information about this can be found on my Web site: www.thebeadedbranch.com/Repairs.html


Thanks, Teri! It's been great getting to know this wonderful mother and Etsian. Please check out her shop. I know you'll love it as much as I do!